The Brewery

History of Carlow Brewing Company
In its relatively short period of time, Carlow Brewing Company, a microbrewery founded in 1998, has quickly established itself as one of the leading small breweries in the World by achieving the highest accolade the Brewing Industry has to offer when O’Hara’s Stout won the Championship Trophy and a Gold Medal at the Brewing Industry International Awards in April 2000.  These awards testify to the quality and truly international appeal of the Carlow Brewing Company products, which includes O’Hara’s Celtic Stout, Curim Gold Celtic wheat beer and Molings traditional red ale.  Founded by the O’Hara brothers, the brewery has revived a tradition that was once synonymous with the Barrow valley, the traditional heartland of the brewing industry in Ireland. Malted barley and hops were farmed extensively here, supported by the many old malting and grain mills that are still prevalent in the landscape. Records show that by the early part of the 19th Century there were five breweries in operation in Carlow. The last of these closed at the end of the 19th Century. With a dedication to quality reminiscent of the by gone brewers, the Carlow Brewing Co. has gone from strength to strength and now exports beers to a number of countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Scandinavia and Continental Europe.  The Brewery is housed in The Goods Store, a superb old stone building which in days gone by was the scene of the unloading of provisions for the towns traders.

The Origin of Beer in Ireland
The Irish king Conor Mac Nessa, who ruled in Ulster around the end of the first century AD, had a lifestyle that would be the envy of any couch potato today. King Conor, according to the great Irish epic called the Tain Bo Cuailnge, spent a third of his day watching the youths at sport, a third playing “fidchell” a board game, and the last third of the day drinking “cuirim” - ale “until he falls asleep therefrom.”It was the Greek philosopher and physician Dioscorides in the 1st Century AD who stated that the Irish drank a liquor called curmi. Old Irish writings use the word coirm to describe a malt liquor. Since the supping of coirm was carried out at festivals, banquets and musical evenings, modern Gaelic uses this same word to describe a music festival. Some writers recording events that took place during the Elizabethan period have described Irish chieftains quaffing of methers of coirm during banquets and even before going into battle.

The Island of Saints Scholars and Brewers
Our own apostle of Christianity, St. Patrick, be he Saxon or Celt, was also fond of his coirm and retained within the household his brewer Mescan.  Mescan however, was also a monk given to devout spiritual works in the metaphysical, but who was probably much more appreciated for his stout spiritual works in the physical.

In the Life of St. Bridget as recorded by Messingham and others we are told of how this saintly lady - “Mary of the Gael” - performed many miracles within the brewing art. Translations from the Rawlinson Manuscripts B512 state how she was able to supply seventeen churches within her neighbourhood with Easter Ale brewed from a single sack of malt. Other recordings from the same text reveal how she placed so much importance on producing top quality ale, appreciating both its medicinal and nourishing properties.St. Gall and St. Columbanus left their monastery in Bangor Co. Down early in the 7th Century with a small band of monks. Their objective was to restore classical learning and traditions in a Europe which had been devastated by barbarism. Like all civilized men they were fond of their beer and brought with them their brewing art.