Michael Scully, Cork dairy farmer and former director of property investment fund Castle Carbery Properties, this week opened the doors on a new €10m distillery in Clonakilty, Co Cork.

Irish whiskey is experiencing a renaissance, with sales breaking 10m cases last year.

Over the last six years, 19 whiskey distilleries have opened in Ireland, bringing the total to 23.

Clonakilty Distillery Ltd, which was set up in 2016, will produce a triple-distilled single-pot whiskey made from grain sourced from Scully’s family farm.

The distillery will also produce gin.

The fund ran into difficulty and investors in Castle Carbery, mostly farmers, experienced significant losses

Scully, who is CEO of the distillery, says it intends to capture a share of the global Irish whiskey category. It also aims to attract 35,000 visitors per year.

Michael Scully will be known to many farmers as the Cork dairy farmer turned property developer who established Castle Carbery Properties, an investment fund set up in 1998 to invest in Polish property.

The fund ran into difficulty and investors in Castle Carbery, mostly farmers, experienced significant losses.

Clonakilty Distillery directors are Michael and Helen Scully, and his previous partner in now liquidated Castle Carbery Properties, Padraig Coll.

Denis O’Flynn is also a director of the distillery. He is a former managing director of Pernod Ricard UK, the owners of Irish Distillers and the Jameson brand.

Accounts show that in 2016, Clonakilty Distillery received a €170,000 loan from Swiftbrook Ltd, a company owned by Padraig Coll. Swiftbrook Ltd has a 20% shareholding in the parent company of Clonakilty Distillery Limited, Dunowen Farm Investments Ltd, a company whose directors are Michael and Helen Scully and Padraig Coll.

It also received a €930,000 loan from Galleyhead Ltd, a company of which Helen Scully is a director.