History
The distillery was founded in 1757 and, by 1798, was in the hands of Matthias McManus, whose son was executed in Mullingar due to the part he played in the United Irishmen rebellion of that year.
John Locke took over the distillery in 1843, from when it remained in the hands of the Locke family for many years, being inherited by Mary Evelyn and Florence Emily, granddaughters of John Locke, in 1943. In 1947 the distillery was purchased by The Transworld Trust. This, together with the economic depression of the 1920s and 1930s, took its toll on Locke's and on 19 March 1954 production ceased, with the distillery closing completely in 1957 and the building began to fall into disrepair. Twenty five years after its closure, the community of Kilbeggan restored the distillery and opened it to the public as a whiskey distillery museum. Cooley Distillery bought the license to produce Kilbeggan and Lockes Whiskey, and later took over the museum along with opening a new working distillery in Kilbeggan.
Read more about this topic: Kilbeggan Distillery
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