Some 80 people were employed across a range of disciplines, including production, supply, customer service, technical and quality control.
[3] However, due to the declining property markets throughout the globe, Diageo reassessed its decision and put all closures on hold for a period, although the kegging facilities in Dundalk were moved to St James Gate.
[citation needed] On 30 September 2013, all brewing and processing ceased and the brewery was officially closed by Diageo.
[4] On 31 July 2015 distilling began for the first time with the brewery having been renamed as the Great Northern Distillery.
It maintains the use of spring water from the Cooley Peninsula as a key feature of production, just as the brewery had before.