Days Out NI
Distillery Newry

Matt D'Arcy & Co Brewery & Distillery

Newry's 1817 whiskey name, revived — taste it on a distillery tour while the home site is rebuilt.

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Matt D'Arcy & Co Brewery & Distillery — Newry's 1817 whiskey name, revived — taste it on a distillery tour while the home site is rebuilt.

  • Getting in: No open Newry visitor site yet. Whiskey tour and tasting is at the Echlinville Distillery, Co. Down — paid and pre-booked.
  • Tours: Echlinville Tour & Tipple: guided distillery tour ending with a tasting. Booking required.
  • Opening: Newry site not open to visitors. Check Echlinville's website for current tour days and times.
  • Age limits: Over-18 for the distillery tour and tasting (spirits sampling). Confirm when booking.
  • Food: No café confirmed at the Newry site. Echlinville offers its tour experience; check before you go.
  • Parking: Town-centre parking in Newry for the historic building. For Echlinville, parking is on site.
Plan your visit

Taste the whiskey on a guided distillery tour

Because Matt D'Arcy is matured and bottled at the Echlinville Distillery, that is where the public tour and tasting happens. The Tour & Tipple takes you through a working farm distillery — the sights, sounds and smells of grain becoming spirit — and finishes with a sit-down tasting of award-winning whiskey, gin and poitín. It is a paid, pre-booked experience and, as with any spirits tasting, an over-18 one. Book through echlinville.com rather than just showing up.

Historic 1817 Newry name Tasting on tour Over-18 experience Booking required Made at Echlinville, Co. Down Newry site still being built
Good to know before you go:

Distilleries across NI run tastings, masterclasses, late openings and seasonal events through the year. The Newry visitor centre plans are also worth watching, as a reopening here would add a new tour to the area. Check ahead for what's on near your visit.

Before you set off

What to bring

  • 🪪Photo IDTastings are 18+ — bring ID if you look under 25.
  • 🚗A plan to get homeA designated driver or lift, so everyone can enjoy the tasting.
  • 👟Comfy shoesWorking distilleries have stairs and hard floors on the tour.
  • 💷A few poundsFor the shop and a bottle to take home.
Good to know

Everything before you go

Getting in
No open Newry visitor site yet. Whiskey tour and tasting is at the Echlinville Distillery, Co. Down — paid and pre-booked.
Opening
Newry site not open to visitors. Check Echlinville's website for current tour days and times.
Tours
Echlinville Tour & Tipple: guided distillery tour ending with a tasting. Booking required.
Age limits
Over-18 for the distillery tour and tasting (spirits sampling). Confirm when booking.
Food
No café confirmed at the Newry site. Echlinville offers its tour experience; check before you go.
Family-friendly
No — this is a spirits tour aimed at adults.
Parking
Town-centre parking in Newry for the historic building. For Echlinville, parking is on site.
Accessibility
Check directly with Echlinville before booking, as a working distillery can have steps and uneven floors.
How long to allow
Allow around 1.5 to 2 hours for a distillery tour and tasting at Echlinville.
Address
Original site: Monaghan Street, Newry, Co. Down. Tours: The Echlinville Distillery, Co. Down — see echlinville.com.
Questions

Before you go

Do I need to book?
No open Newry visitor site yet. Whiskey tour and tasting is at the Echlinville Distillery, Co. Down — paid and pre-booked.
What tours are there?
Echlinville Tour & Tipple: guided distillery tour ending with a tasting. Booking required.
What are the opening times?
Newry site not open to visitors. Check Echlinville's website for current tour days and times.
Is there an age limit?
Over-18 for the distillery tour and tasting (spirits sampling). Confirm when booking.
Is there food or a bar?
No café confirmed at the Newry site. Echlinville offers its tour experience; check before you go.
Getting there

Matt D'Arcy & Co Brewery & Distillery is at Original site: Monaghan Street, Newry, Co. Down. Tours: The Echlinville Distillery, Co. Down — see echlinville.com.. Town-centre parking in Newry for the historic building. For Echlinville, parking is on site. Tap below for directions.

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Nearby

Make more of the day

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The story

About Matt D'Arcy

Matt D'Arcy & Co was founded in 1817, when Matthew D'Arcy went into partnership with Denis Caulfield and Robert Thompson at a Newry distillery site that traced back to 1780. With nearby milling and the partners' own barley fields, it grew into one of the most important whiskey and spirit businesses in the north of Ireland, and under later leadership commissioned celebrated architect W.J. Barre to design an imposing distillery façade that still stands on Monaghan Street.

The brand fell silent for roughly a century before local historian and businessman Michael McKeown revived it in 2020. Today Matt D'Arcy whiskey is produced in partnership with the Echlinville Distillery in Co. Down, which matures and bottles it. A separate £7.3m plan aims to bring distilling back to the original Newry site with a distillery, bar, restaurant and visitor centre — but that experience is still being developed, so check before planning a visit to Newry itself.