In earlier times on a trade route at the end of today’s “Wicklow Way” there lies a small village of Clonegal or officially named Clonegall. The rivers Slaney and Derry flow into each other here and not far lie the nearby counties of Carlow and Wexford which each share a part of Clonegal. In the Carlow part, you can find the historical Huntington Castle which was built in 1625 by the Esmonds family. Till today the descendants of this family still live there and during the summer months, there are options for castle and garden visitations.
Not far from the castle you can find Osborne’s Bar and Lounge which is a typical example of a grocery store and pub mixed together. The front areas of the pub have been left in their original styles while the old wall shelving which has changed throughout time still gives a peek of how the place was back then. 
On the Wexford side of Clonegal, you can find the old Mill that is now a whiskey distillery. I’m some old archives it was found that in 1798 Simon Lacey a resident there had given his address as Johnstown/Ballyshonoghue/Clonegal. From tax records, it can be seen that in 1805 the distillery was producing 533 gallons of whiskey in a year. During this time period a fire broke out and the distillery was closed for rebuilding. Till this day you can still see the ruins of the former Mill and if you’re in luck you’ll see a farmer or local residents that can give you some history on where exactly the distillery was.

If it's on your way or you merely have interest in not so well known pubs or Irish whiskey history, I would recommend this place as a place to add on to your travels whilst in Ireland.
Osborne Pub, 1 Moyacomb Meadow, Huntington, Co. Carlow

Huntington Castle, Clonegal, Co. Carlow www.huntingtoncastle.com

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