COMMUNITY NOTES: BALLYHAUNIS - WESTERN PEOPLE (JUNE 17 EDITION)
The Black Donkey, a microbrewery on the Ballyhaunis road in Ballinlough, has announced its closure.
Owner and chief brewer Richard Siberry shared the sad news in an email to customers in recent days.
“We have recently made the hard decision to close Black Donkey Brewing,” he wrote. “The brewery is for sale, production has been stopped, and we are currently selling through the last of our beer stock.”
A native of Louth, Richard opened the brewery nearly a decade ago, having returned to Ireland from a long and successful corporate career in America. He explained to this column in 2022 how competition from the country’s two dominant brewing multinationals as well as a cumbersome licensing regime made it difficult for microbreweries like Black Donkey to supply pubs or to set up their own pub.
The pandemic was also difficult for Black Donkey, which had built up a good client base in the more touristed towns of West Mayo. Nonetheless, Black Donkey was able to drive sales when it established its online store in late 2021 but found the conventional retail model more difficult. Large-scale retail chains typically use beer as a mass market, low-margin product to draw customers and premium local craft beer fits uneasily into this retail model, Mr Siberry told this column in 2022.
Licensing laws made it hard for Black Donkey to develop a passing trade with customers calling at the brewery which was located on the busy Ballyhaunis Road on the outskirts of Ballinlough. The €50,000 price tag of a full bar license was prohibitive for the microbrewery, which drew a steady trickle of visitors keen to purchase the local brew.
The Black Donkey is now taking orders for the limited quantities of its most popular labels which it still has in stock - Sheep Stealer, Sergeant Jimmy, Rubicon and Western Warrior.
“Unfortunately, when they are gone they will be gone forever,” said brewmaster Richard who stressed he “sincerely thanks” his customers for their loyal support.
