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Fore Distillery - Irish Rum & Poitín Tours Westmeath

@foredistillery

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🥃 A new take on old favourites
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We’re delighted to be top of the list in RTÉ Lifestyle’s “5 Stays in Ireland to Enjoy Over the Halloween Mid-Term Break”! ✨

With so much happening as part of Samhain in the Heartlands right on our doorstep, we’re the perfect base for a fun-filled Halloween getaway! Enjoy a relaxing stay with all the comforts of the hotel, then wrap up warm and head out to discover the fantastic family-friendly events and autumn adventures happening across Westmeath.

📲 Full article linked in Story.

Nearby Samhain in the Heartlands Events:
👉 Dark Spirits and Tasty Treats • 22nd October | Montgomery’s Whiskey Bar, Mullingar
👉 Samhain on the Land • 24th - 31st October | Murtagh’s Organic Farm, Ballynacargy
👉 Samhain - The Spooktacular Summoning • 24th & 25th October | Dún Na Sí Amenity & Heritage Park
👉 Samhain at Belvedere – Samhain Spectacle After Dark • 24th & 25th October | Belvedere House & Gardens
👉 Abbey Blooms After Dark:The Enchanted Garden • 24th - 31st October | Abbey Blooms Botanical Gardens & Café
👉 Ruth Illingworth Ghost Tours of old Mullingar • 25th - 27th October | Market Square, Mullingar
👉 Footsteps & Folklore on the National Famine Way • 26th October | Coolnahay Harbour
👉 Haunted Westmeath Podcast Live • 29th October | Canton Casey’s, Mullingar
👉 Faces of Samhain - Mask Making workshop • 30th October | Dún Na Sí Amenity & Heritage Park
👉 Multyfarnham Scarecrow Festival • 31st October | Gaine Park, Multyfarnham
👉 First Harvest to Final Feast: A Time-Travel Adventure Through the Harvest Season • 1st November | Dún Na Sí Amenity & Heritage Park
👉 Smoke & Spirits at Fore Distillery • 1st November | Fore Distillery
👉 An Tairseach: Samhain ar Uisneach (FESTIVAL FINALE!) • 7th & 8th November | Hill of Uisneach

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Where the veil between medieval monasticism and absolute spiritual isolation thins, the hillside overlooking Fore Abbey reveals a monument to radical asceticism. This is the Anchorite’s Cell, a 15th-century stone fortress designed not to keep the world out, but to lock a single soul inside.

To enter this space in the late Middle Ages was to cross an irreversible threshold. Unlike the Benedictine monks who communalized their devotion in the valley below starting around 1180, the anchorite underwent a religious rite that mirrored a funeral mass. Once enclosed within the stone walls, the door was bricked or locked shut. The anchorite was officially dead to the secular world, entombed alive in the “Stone”.

The cell’s most famous inhabitant was Father Patrick Beglan. For decades in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Beglan existed in this liminal space between heaven and earth, relying entirely on local villagers to pass sustenance through a singular, narrow aperture.
His absolute confinement came to an abrupt, tragic end in 1616. According to local lore, Beglan suffered a fatal fall—metaphorically fulfilling his sacred vow never to leave the threshold of his cell alive. With his passing, the centuries-old tradition of anchoritic enclosure effectively died out in Ireland.

Later adapted in 1680 by Richard Nugent and heavily augmented in 1867 with a Gothic Revival chancel, the building stands today as the Nugent-Greville Mausoleum. Yet beneath its modified facade, the original 15th-century tower remains—housing the Latin-inscribed stone slab where Ireland’s last hermit lies buried exactly where he prayed.
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#irishhistory #medievalireland #monastic #irishheritage #foreabbey

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We had an amazing time at @foredistillery today .. from the education on making Poitín told to us by tour guide and Owner Oliver , and having Lunch with one of the most amazing views ( @sineadc2026 ) haha and actually the scenery ... absolutely spectacular ! 100% worth a trip ! Go go go

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Explore the wonders of Fore this autumn 🍂 Located just 20mins from Annebrook House Hotel, our friends at @foredistillery offer a range of tours, tasty delights and experiences for all ages.

Why not book a tour on your next stay with us and access exclusive discounts simply by being an Annebrook Hotel guest.

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It's Poitín's time to (moon) shine ☘️

Did you know that the high-proof Irish distilled spirit is having a modern revival through craft distillers, bartenders and curious drinkers. In the producer feature of the September|October issue of Irish Country Magazine, food writer Dee Laffan chats with the founder of Fore Distillery Ireland about the unusual drink and its comeback.

Plus, Dee shares some Poitín recipes to try at home.

Pick up the September|October issue of Irish Country Magazine on shelves nationwide now.

Photography: Philip Doyle.

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Ou plutôt du nord du Westmeath, car oui, le Westmeath est plein de surprises ! Une superbe découverte faite cet été, un comté méconnu et pourtant si chouette : des abbayes, des châteaux, des lacs... l’Irlande rurale pittoresque ! ☘️🌿 On a adoré 🥰🙌 L’article complet sur mes coups de coeur et bonnes adresses arrive bientôt sur le blog !
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@visitwestmeath
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#visitwestmeath #mullingar #irlandeguide #loveireland #instantirlande

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🍎 Thank you! 🍎

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our very first Food & Apple Festival! What a fantastic day — great food, great atmosphere and wonderful people. ❤️

We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Keep an eye on www.belvedere-house.ie for news of our upcoming events. 🌿✨

#BelvedereHouse #FoodAndAppleFestival #ThankYou #BelvedereEvents

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Some places seem to hold on to their stories.

I spent a day in Fore, Co Westmeath, photographing poitín for @irishcountrymag . I have passed through Fore many times and the beautiful small town and its landscape has always caught in my imagination.

Nestled near the ruins of Fore Abbey, @foredistillery is Oliver Guirke’s take on an old Irish tradition, bringing together the knowledge he picked up while distilling in the US with the landscape, ingredients and history of home. The result is a range of small-batch spirits, including rum, poitín and poitín liqueurs made with wonderfully Irish ingredients like wild nettle and local plums.

What struck me most was how much of Fore seems to be about rediscovering what was already here. The village is steeped in history, from the ancient abbey and its famous Seven Wonders to the springs that give Fore its Irish name, Fobhair. One of the tales of Fore says that waters of fore, boil at a higher temperature due to the high mineral content.

It’s a landscape where the past is never far away, and perhaps that’s why the resurgence of poitín feels so interesting right now. Once Ireland’s illicit spirit, it’s increasingly being embraced as the OG Irish spirit, part of a wider curiosity about our Gaelic heritage, our traditions and the things that survived despite centuries of suppression and cultural change.

Oliver was brilliant to spend time with: passionate, curious and clearly invested in making something that feels both rooted in the past and very much of the present.

The food producer is one of my favourite features to shoot. I’ve been covering it for 9 years and love being given the behind the scenes access to see how these incredible Irish products are created and the characters behind them. Over the last couple of years food journalist @deelaffan has added her own twist by developing recipes from the products we see.

There’s much more to the story, including the history of Fore, the thinking behind the distillery recipe ideas and Oliver’s journey in the latest @irishcountrymagazine.
Go find the full story in the magazine which is on shelves right now.

#magazine #Poitín #ireland #GaelicRevival

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🍎 JUST 2 WEEKS TO GO! 🍏🎉

The countdown is officially on! ⏰

In just 2 weeks, Belvedere House, Gardens & Park will come alive for the Belvedere Food & Apple Festival! 🌳🍎

Join us on Sunday, 6th September 2026 for a fantastic day packed with:

👩‍🍳 Celebrity Chef Catherine Fulvio
🍏 Celebrating the Belvedere Apple
🥘 Fantastic food producers & vendors
🎤 Live cookery demonstrations
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family fun & kids’ activities
🌿 A beautiful day out at Belvedere

Whether you're a foodie, an apple lover or looking for a great family day out, there's something for everyone!

📅 Sunday, 6th September 2026
📍 Belvedere House, Gardens & Park, Mullingar

🎟️ Don’t leave it until the last minute — pre-book your tickets online via the link in our Bio or below:

https://belvedere-house.ie/event/belvedere-apple-festival/

2 weeks to go. 1 fantastic day. 🍎 See you at Belvedere!

#BelvedereFoodAndAppleFestival #BelvedereApple #CatherineFulvio #BelvedereHouse #Mullingar Westmeath FoodFestival FamilyDayOut IrishFood

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In case you haven’t guessed… we’re on a mid-season break at The Poitín Parlour. We’ve taken a little hol for the month of August, but we’re already recording to come back in September 🎉 What an incredible mix of Irish Poitíns we’ve had already @drinkmadmarchhare_ @tippdistillery @banpoitin @killowendistillery @foredistillery - can’t wait to bring you loads more!

#poitinparlour #irishpoitín #poitin #drinkirish #irish

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Join me for My illicit Poitín Chat with Al Poitíno.
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I visited Al (pseudonym) deep in the high bogs of the mountains of the North West of Ireland..... to discover his amazing hidden still.
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We chatted about his homebrew supply business - Hooley Homebrew - and we went through his still set-up and practices in making Ireland’s native spirit - Poitín.... pronounced Potcheen...
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Al Poitíno has garnered a devout following on social media due to his highly entertaining and instructional videos on homebrewing and how to use the supplies he is selling on his site.
Check it out: https://hooleyhomebrew.ie/
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This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:
www.boanndistillery.ie
www.theharbourviewhotel.com
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Don’t forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.
https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast
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I really hope you enjoy listening in to our chat.
Laurie
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