Longford whiskey distiller raises a glass to US President

A County Longford whiskey distiller said he is very pleased by the welcome development that the 10% US tariff on Irish whiskey is to be scrapped.

US President Donald Trump rounded off an eventful trip to Ireland by making the surprise announcement at his Doonbeg Golf Course during the Irish Open on Sunday.

Lough Ree Distillery is very much a family enterprise, which was co-founded by Peter Clancy, his brother Michael Clancy and their sister Sheila Mullen in 2018 in Lanesboro.

President Trump said the removal of the 10% tariff would only apply to Ireland and not any other country in the EU.

Irish whiskey had previously been hit with a 15% tariff which was reduced in July.

Irish distillers had also been facing a disparity and operating at a disadvantage compared to whiskey distillers in Northern Ireland after the UK whiskey tariff was completely scrapped last July.

Peter Clancy, an active member of the Irish Whiskey Association, said he welcomes the announcement and he is hopeful it will boost trade and certainty for Lough Ree Distillery and fellow IWA members.

"Yes, 100% we are very pleased.”

"Anything which removes barriers to trade, which makes you more competitive in a foreign market, be it there or anywhere else is to be welcomed, for sure.”

“I suppose it nearly makes the whole thing unnecessary. What was the last two years about?"

Peter said it is a broadly positive development but they are interested to see the detail on how it will be implemented and the timelines.

"Hopefully, this is the start of something settling down.”

"It's certainly something that the industry here has been looking for since it went into place.”

Peter Clancy remarked, “I suppose the industry position is we would like to get back to a position of zero to zero tariffs, where there are no tariffs going either way, which is what we had pre-2024 for 60 or 70 years.”

“That resulted in good trade, increased consumer choice, and everyone having the ability to be competitive.”

President Trump suggested to the media he made the decision after discussing it and some lobbying from Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Irish Open winner Shane Lowry. Peter said thankfully, we were not ‘overly exposed’ to the tariffs because they are what he describes as ‘small guys’.

“We had only started to do business in the US probably in 2023, and we are only getting established there. We took a view with our importer that, listen, there’s an awful lot of stuff going on here, which is out of our control so lets [take our time].”