Shane realises ambition to bring historic ‘Spirit of Belfast’ back to global stage

Shane, who owns Echlinville Distillery, which is located outside the village of Kircubbin on Strangford Lough, and runs it with longstanding friend and business partner Jarlath Watson, has rejuvenated the Dunville’s and Old Comber Irish whiskey brands that disappeared from bars here and across the world almost a century ago. The partners have taken the whiskeys to global success and won a host of international awards for their expertise.

Dunville’s, once among the best-selling Irish whiskeys in the US before spirits were banned there under Prohibition in the 30s, recently gained an unrivalled 12 awards in the prestigious World Whiskies Awards and its Old Comber was named among Ireland’s top pot still whiskeys.

Dunville’s single malt was previously named Ireland’s best in the Irish Whiskey Awards.

Shane says: “These awards are a marvellous boost for us and Dunville’s, the whiskey brand we revived in 2012. The Irish whiskey industry is hugely competitive, and the standard of whiskey being produced gets better every year. To secure three category wins in the highly sought after single malt and single cask categories is a great achievement and testament to the hard work and commitment of our team.

“As proud custodians of the Dunville’s Irish Whiskey brand, we have been on a decade long journey towards restoring ‘The Spirit of Belfast’ to its rightful place among the world’s finest whiskeys. Dunville’s has won significant prizes at the World Whiskies Awards every year since 2015.

“We are equally delighted that our Old Comber Whiskey received a bronze medal, placing it among Ireland’s best pot still whiskeys. For Old Comber to take a podium spot alongside the industry’s biggest pot still brands on its debut at the World Whiskies Awards is a huge achievement.”

“One of the original Irish whiskey giants, Old Comber was produced just a few miles from Echlinville at the Comber Distilleries that closed in 1953. We revived the brand in 2021 and are delighted to bring it back to its County Down homeland.”

Echlinville, which now features an impressive visitor centre and café, is Ireland’s only farm to bottle distillery that uses grain from Shane’s family estate. In 2012, it was the second distillery to be developed in Northern Ireland in more than a century.

Echlinville’s heritage stretches back to 1808 and the formation of a wine and spirit business by friends William Napier and John Dunvill in Belfast’s Bank Street. It subsequently became Dunville and Company and would become synonymous with Irish whiskey through the formation of the Royal Irish Distilleries, one of the biggest in Ireland, at Distillery Street in west Belfast.

By the end of the 19th century, Ireland was producing 14 million gallons of whiskey per year. 2.5 million of which was distilled at The Royal Irish Distilleries. With four vast malting floors, 16 washbacks, five huge pot stills, a Coffey still and even its own railway siding, Royal Irish was then said to be the most modern and impressive distillery in Ireland.

The rise and fall of the distillery was covered in the pages of this newspaper. In 1931 Robert Lambart Dunville, the fifth chairman of Dunville & Co. Ltd., died suddenly at the age of 38. His brother, Lieutenant John Spencer Dunville, had lost his life during

The Great War and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery. With Robert’s only surviving brother William living in Australia there was no-one willing or able to take over the company. The firm soon lost direction and distilling stopped in 1935 and in 1936 the directors liquidated the business. Stocks and assets were sold and over the years that followed the Royal Irish Distilleries was razed to the ground and the brand lost….until 2012.

The heritage of distilling at Comber is just as colourful, dating back to the late 18th century when James Patterson created the first distillery on Killinchy Street using water from the Glen river, which flowed close to the distillery. In 1829, excise records show that the distillery, now under different ownership, produced 80,000 gallons of whiskey.

A second distillery was built in 1825 by William Byrne who converted a paper mill with water being diverted from the Enler river. The two distilleries combined had 60 employees, five excise men and produced over 300,000 gallons of pot still whiskey. Both fell on hard times and eventually closed in 1952.

Echlinville has now succeeded in bringing both back successfully to the global stage.