In 1784 Monasterevin Distillery was opened by Mr. John Cassidy. A hundred
years later, in 1884 the distillery was making 250,000 gallons of whiskey a
year. It was said that the "Cassidy whiskey was the best whiskey in the
country".
Some of the whiskey was
exported to London. It was transported to Dublin on canal boats and then
shipped to England from Dublin Port. A brewery for making beer was later opened in 1860. Cassidy's
Distillery and Brewery closed in 1934.
The Cassidy Family lived in Monasterevin
House. They were friendly with Gerard Manley Hopkins, the famous poet. He stayed with them when he
visited Monasterevin.
The once busy factory is now a derelict
building.