International spirits company, Quintessential Brands, owner of First Ireland Spirits, Irish Creams and majority owner of The Dublin Liberties Whiskey Company, has appointed two experienced senior marketers to support general manager and master distiller, Darryl McNally, and marketing director, Sinéad O Frighil, to drive the growth of its Irish whiskey brands, which include The Dubliner, The Dublin Liberties and The Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey.
Avril Donagher has been appointed brand director of The Dublin Liberties Whiskey Company. Donagher will take responsibility for The Dublin Liberties and The Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey brands, driving their development and growth across the globe. She joins from Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard where she was senior brand manager for brand advocacy for Jameson Irish Whiskey.
Mark Hogan has been appointed marketing director, Quintessential Brands Ireland. Hogan will primarily take responsibility for the development of The Dublin Liberties Distillery’s tourism marketing and visitor experience, and will spearhead the launch of The Dublin Liberties Distillery, which is currently under construction and expected to open in the autumn. Hogan, who joins from Hot Press magazine where he was head of marketing, will also be tasked with raising the profile of Quintessential Brands’ portfolio amongst the trade and consumers in Ireland.
John Callely also joins the company as a consultant to support the development of The Dublin Liberties Distillery tourism strategy. Callely was managing director of the Jameson Visitor Centre for over 20 years and has also worked with Teeling Whiskey on the development and launch of their visitor centre.
In addition to the senior team appointments, Caoimhe Howard has been appointed international brand manager, Premium Whiskey. Howard, who joins from Proximo, will support the development of The Dublin Liberties Distillery’s Irish whiskey portfolio. Caroline Daly has also been appointed International Brand Manager, Irish Creams, and joins from Edward Dillion where she was Marketing Manager for the Brown-Forman portfolio for Ireland.
The new hires follow the creation of Quintessential Brands’ own route to market in Ireland last year and the subsequent appointments of Max Hayes as Commercial Director for Quintessential Brands Ireland, and Lisa Doyle, who joined the company in March 2017 as On-Trade Commercial Manager.
In June 2017, the company announced that Stock Spirits had invested €28 million in The Dublin Liberties Whiskey Company, allowing the company to accelerate the construction of its €10 million distillery, The Dublin Liberties Distillery, which is currently being built on Mill Street in the heart of the Dublin Liberties. Production of all the company’s whiskey brands will move to The Dublin Liberties Distillery and the site will also include an industry-leading visitor experience and a world-class bar.
