This same year became a watershed in the history of Ireland then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It marked the start of the Great Irish famine, a seven-year period of mass starvation and suffering the long-term effects of which would permanently change forever the island’s demographic, political, and cultural landscape. The Great Irish famine would become a rallying point for Irish nationalism both on the island and abroad amongst its emigrants forced from their homeland into exile.

Ireland had undergone profound change during the years of Brannick’s apprenticeship and by 1852, a million people were dead and a further million had fled the island, emigrating to the UK, Australia and North America. After 1852, emigration from Ireland became an accepted and relentless national enterprise. By 1890, 40% of Irish-born people were living abroad. By the 21st century, an estimated 80 million people worldwide claim Irish descent, including more than 36 million Americans who claim Irish as their primary ethnicity.

In all, thirteen people are understood to have died as a result of the great whiskey fire of dublin city. None of the deceased perished in the flames, nor did they die of smoke inhalation, each succumbed to alcohol poisoning from drinking “freely of the derelict whiskey”.

The dangers of fire resulting from whiskey making is reflected in one of the most destructive fires in the history of the Dublin which occurred on the 18th June 1875, two years after D.W.D. was established. A malt house and a bonded warehouse located in the Liberties area of the city went up in flames and the resulting burning liquid flowed through the surrounding streets destroying a significant part of the south inner city centre. Eye witnesses at the time described the torrent of burning whiskey as resembling molten lava.

Livestock was common in the city at the time and the squeals of fleeing pigs added to the chaos as the tenements rapidly emptied of residents. Amid the “frightening” bustle, crowds gathered along the stream of alcohol; for many, the inferno presented a rare opportunity to approriate some fine Irish whiskey.

This unfortunate event endorsed Brannick’s foresight and creative mind to install unique fire protection measures within his distillery. Brannick insisted upon the installation of protective curtains around his Mash Tuns, designed to stop fine grist building up in the air leading to a static charge and explosion. He also ensured all distillery buildings had flat roofs on which stood huge water tanks holding 100,000 gallons that could be released in the event of a distillery fire. Brannick’s design represented an incredible feat civil engineering considering the stored water alone weighed four and a half thousand metric tons.

Brannick’s Ireland continued to undergo significant change. The same year as the Great Bonded Store was completed saw one of the largest conflicts in Irish history erupt over the issue of land and landownership in Ireland. For the first time in centuries the authority of landlords to control the land in Ireland was questioned and challenged. The “Land War” as it became known was not actually a “war”, but rather a prolonged period of civil unrest. Tenant farmers came together to form The Land League led by their charismatic leader Charles Stuart Parnell. After three years of continuous struggle the British Government in London passed reforming laws conferring rights to tenants which in time would end rural landlordism.

The 1916 Rising was the armed insurrection that began on the 24th April to establish an independent Irish Republic. Organised by the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the rising lasted six days and involved fierce street fighting between rebels and the British army which devastated central Dublin. Critically the leaders of the Rising were executed following courts-martial and it was this reaction by the British authorities which would transform Irish public opinion in support of an independent Ireland. The Irish poet and writer W.B. Yates articulated the significance of 1916 Rebellion stating “All changed utterly, a terrible beauty was borne”. The 1916 Rising was a pivotal moment in Irish history which would ultimately lead to Irish independence with profound effects on every aspect of Irish society. From the perspective of the Irish whiskey industry and D.W.D., the impact of Irish independence on their business would be nothing short of disastrous.

Events leading from the 1916 Rebellion culminated in the Irish War of Independence and the establishment of the Irish Free State on the 6th December 1922. The War of Independence was only matched in its brutality by the Civil war which followed the creation of the Free State. Brother fought against brother as anti-treaty forces fought against the partition of island between the independent twenty-six county South and the six-county North which would remain part of the United Kingdom. The centre of Dublin would again be reduced to ruins in the space of a few short years. In such a tragic environment, the ambitions of “the Great Distilleries of Dublin” would have to take second place.

The Anglo-Irish Trade War was a retaliatory trade war between the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom from 1932 to 1938. The Irish Government refused to continue reimbursing Britain for loans previously granted to Irish tenant farmers to enable them to purchase their lands from their Anglo-Irish Landlords. This resulted in the imposition of unilateral trade restrictions by both countries, causing severe damage to the Irish economy. The effect, over night the Irish whiskey industry was shut out of yet another key market, the United Kingdom and also all dominions of the British Empire.

Ireland adopted a policy of neutrality during World War II, a position it maintained throughout the conflict. This period was known in the Republic of Ireland as the Emergency, owing to the wording of the constitutional article employed to suspend normal government of the country. These emergency powers allowed the Irish Government to act without recourse to maintain the viability and integrity of the State. The passing of the Emergency Powers (Whiskey Export) Act imposed the need for an export licence to ship Irish whiskey abroad. This regulation allowed the Irish government to effectively shut down any large scale distillery production as only domestic demand was now open to indigenous Irish distillers. This limited domestic demand was further reduced by the imposition of a minimum 7 year maturation period for Irish whiskey sold in the Republic during the Emergency. The Irish whiskey industry was yet again sacrificed for a broader political agenda.