Inchicore’s Stillgarden Distillery to close after failing to secure new investment

Inchicore’s Stillgarden Distillery has announced its closure after a search for new investment was unsuccessful.

Stillgarden, based in Goldenbridge Estate on Tyrconnell Road, has shut its doors and the company, Disruptive Spirits Ltd, will be placed into creditors’ voluntary liquidation unless a new owner or investor comes forward.

Stillgarden was founded by Victoria Baird, Pat O’Brien and Damien Heary in 2019, and produced Irish Amari and herbal liqueurs, making use of botanicals grown in its own garden in Inchicore.

Co-founder and Managing Director Victoria Baird noted that the group had “done everything” to keep the local distillery doors open.

The co-founder said: “We have done everything we could to keep Stillgarden going. We made the business leaner, built a brand that people love here and in the UK, and put everything into finding the right investor to take it to the next level. There is real demand for what we make.”

Managing Director Baird noted that capital is important to small spiritmakers and that the company had ran out of funds themselves.

An attempt to gather investment funds was not enough to keep the business going in its current form, though appreciation was given to those who did provide funds over the years.

However, Baird offered up the brand to “the right hands” should anyone wish to come on board and keep the local distillery alive.

“What a small independent distillery needs is capital, and we simply could not keep funding it ourselves. We would love to see Stillgarden carry on in the right hands. If anyone in the industry sees the potential we see, I would ask them to get in touch now.

“I want to thank our team, who have been brilliant, and everyone who has supported us: our customers, the bars and shops that stock us, our suppliers, and the investors who backed us through crowdfunding and EIIS.”