Ballycastle farmer hit with heavy fine after discovery of major poitín-making operation
Antrim, 27 February 1923 - A farmer from Co. Antrim received a large fine at the Ballycastle Petty Sessions yesterday for illicit poitín-making.
The farmer, Mr. Patrick Keenan, of Kilrobert, Glenshesk, was charged by District Inspector McNeill with possession of a still for the purposes of illegal distillation.
There was no defence offered. The defendant’s solicitor Mr. P.C.A Markey pleaded guilty on his behalf, remarking in the process that the discovery of the poitín-making operation in Ballycastle had created a sensation as great as that at Luxor, where the tomb of Tutankhamun was recently discovered.
The defendant’s solicitor claimed that his client was a mere novice at poitín-making and the manner of his arrest had proven this. Typically, he said, the appearance of police in such numbers would lead to a signal from surrounding hills being used to alert the poitín-makers, but none was used in this case. Given the defendant’s inexperience and naivety, his solicitor’s asked that he be treated leniently by the Court. However, the presiding judge felt otherwise and recommended imposing a heavy fine of £65.
The extent of Mr. Keenan’s poitín-making operation was revealed in evidence presented to the petty sessions by the District Inspector. When police visited the premises of the defendant, the D.I. revealed, they found in one apartment a barrel filled with approximately 35 gallons of wash, as well three barrels from which there was a strong smell of liquor. They also found a large amount of brown sugar, a gallon measure and a funnel. Elsewhere, in an outhouse, a treacle barrel was found, together with two whiskey barrels capable of storing 25 gallons. Contrary to the case mounted by the defence, the District Inspector said that the various articles discovered at the premises pointed to a distilling operation on a large-scale.
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
