One more of the wonders of Fore

Oliver Guirke grew up around Loughcrew, a beautiful place steeped in Irish folklore. Like so many young men of his time, he left his native land to sample foreign shores.

While spending his years in America, Ollie’s love of the unspoiled landscape of his native place grew even stronger – as did the ‘pull’ of wanting to come home. He had a vision of coming home and marrying some sort of business idea to the wild Irish countryside: and then one day in Kentucky, the home of American whiskey distilling, he found what he was looking for.

Oliver travelled from town to town, distillery to distillery, looking and learning until at last he had a plan he could execute back home.

In the course of all this work and research, Ollie found time for love, after he met and married a lovely Armagh lady by the name of Sheena. Two heads are better than one – and now there were two of them driving the plan!

Fore is only a stone’s throw from Loughcrew and on their return, one day the Guirkes had driven through Fore, when Oliver brought the car to a halt about a mile outside the village. “This is the place,” he exclaimed. From where the car had stopped there stretched the most breath-taking landscape that you might find anywhere in the world.

We will skip the middle piece of the story here; the hard work bit!

Today, looking out to that beautiful scenery, Oliver and Sheena

are the proud owners of a distillery and a coffee-shop with a view to die for. This is where their dream has taken them.

Fore Distillery is now producing Poitín, rum, and very shortly their whiskey will be ready for the market. Fore Distillery uses malt barley grown in the Boyne Valley and of course, local spring water.

The glittering distillery is a magnificent piece of engineering, where Collinstown plumbing contractor, John Lennon, brought all his skills to bear on what is a monument to master craftsmanship.

The latest addition to the development is a lovely coffee -shop. How could you have that spectacular view without having a coffee -shop and upstairs restaurant overlooking it?!

Fore Distillery is one more welcome addition to a village well served by ‘Jane Reilly’s Coffee Shop’, ‘Ned’s Forge Coffee Shop’, ‘The Seven Wonders Bar’, and ‘The Abbey Bar’.

The place was buzzing on the sunny days of late, as all the Guirke family were busy entertaining visitors and serving coffee and snacks. Oliver and Sheena’s two daughters, Caoimhe and Allanagh, were eagerly beavering away at the counter. Son Cormac does his shifts as well.

It was easy to see that The Guirke family are quite literally, ‘living the dream!’