2024 Award Winners VISITOR ATTRACTION 2024

The Shed Distillery & Jackalope Café Drumshanbo Co Leitrim

Build it and they will come could have been the mantra for P.J. Rigney whose vision conceived The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo. Taking quality and attention to detail to the nth degree, he has created a world class visitor centre effortlessly combining the local and the exotic. The meticulously designed tour is a fascinating journey through both the distillery process and the world of its creator. Charismatic and expertly trained tour guides lead each tour which culminate in the tropically themed bar and a Gunpowder Gin cocktail as a reward at the tour end. The Shed is not just a tour though, it’s a genuine visitor destination with a feature bar, The Honey Badger, and the delightful independently operated Jackalope Café where Dave Fitzgibbon and Siobhán Smyth offer delicious and attractive homemade food in both an indoor and outdoor setting... It is a major reason why Leitrim is now firmly on the tourism map. If every town in Ireland had a similar visionary entrepreneur it would transform the rural landscape immeasurably for the better.