The Boatyard Distillery

The home of Boatyard, Co Fermanagh, was always a huge pull for our founder Joe McGirr, whilst he was drawing up plans to open a distillery. Not only was it his home and where he grew up, but also it is a place of such beauty and solace.

Established in 2016, The Boatyard Distillery is Fermanagh’s first legal distillery in over 130 years. The distillery emphasis is a farm-to-bottle approach, utilising organic and locally sourced ingredients. Our flagship product, Boatyard Double Gin, is crafted from organic wheat and infused with eight botanicals, including Sweet Gale foraged from the family bog. The distillery also produces Boatyard Vodka, made from Irish wheat and bottled without filtration to retain its natural flavour, and Boatyard Old Tom Gin, aged in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks and sweetened with Fermanagh honey. Committed to sustainability, Boatyard became Ireland’s first B Corp certified distillery in 2023 and offers eco-friendly packaging options. Our spirits have gained international recognition, featuring in top cocktail bars worldwide and earning accolades such as the ‘Gin Category Champion’ at the Bartenders’ Brand Awards 2025.

The Boatyard Tour Experience
The Boatyard Distillery, nestled on the tranquil edge of Lough Erne in Tully Bay Marina, offers an immersive and intimate visitor experience.

Whether you arrive by boat or road, you’re welcomed into a story-rich environment where family history, artisanal detail, and a deep sense of place shine through. Tours at the distillery are a sensory journey, from the handcrafted interiors to the aromatic botanicals in the air, guests are invited to slow down and soak in the authenticity. You’ll hear the McGirr family’s story, learn about the distilling process, and even label your own bottle by hand, creating a lasting memory to take home.

The Distillery events such as their ‘Live at the Still’ Programme are imbued with warmth and storytelling, hospitality at its best. The atmosphere is peaceful and unpretentious, ideal for those seeking a meaningful and relaxed experience.

The shop features our signature products, Boatyard Double Gin, Old Tom and infused with local botanicals such as wild Sweet Gale, alongside other handcrafted spirits, glassware, apparel and giftsets. Each bottle reflects the land and the slow, intentional process behind its creation.

How did the Business Sustainability Training Programme benefit you and your business?
Our participation in the Business Sustainability Training Programme helped solidify and elevate our existing commitment to sustainability. As Ireland’s first B Corp Certified distillery, the programme offered tools and insights that aligned perfectly with our ethos of doing things the right way, not the fastest way.

The training reinforced the importance of embedding sustainability into every stage of our process, from sourcing local botanicals and using handmade materials, to community involvement and global export practices. It provided practical frameworks and inspiration to continue leading by example in the spirits industry, and to grow responsibly while staying true to our values.

We are very proud to be an affiliate Member of the Geopark’s Regenerative Tourism Business Network, to collaborate and drive forward the regenerative tourism agenda with likeminded companies and individuals committed to environmental stewardship and the protection of our incredible people and this beautiful place.

What is the main sustainability focus of your business?
The Boatyard Distillery proudly sits on the banks of Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh, Northwest Ireland. Being surround by this natural beauty gives our operations an extra strong reminder, on a daily basis, of how important sustainability is.

B Corp Certification
In 2022 we became the first Distillery on the island of Ireland to achieve B Corp Certification.

The B Corp accreditation process has led to huge strides in our environmental and social responsibility and in our efforts to protect and nurture the ecosystem we live and work in.

Overall B Impact Score of 92.1.

Certified Organic
Our Double Gin and Vodka are 100% Organic Certified. Our juniper and all the botanicals are from organic crops. The wheat in our Vodka comes from a local organic farmer. Working this way is more complicated and takes longer but we believe the results speak for themselves. Organic is good for the land and provides Boatyard with the highest quality ingredients we need to make extra ordinarily delicious spirits.

Sustainable Products
The Boatyard Distillery plays an important part in our local community and we constantly strive for sustainability excellence in all areas of our operation. From sending our stillage to local farmers for cattle feed, to using our spent juniper to make soap or chocolate, every area of our product is constantly under review with an ultimate goal of full decarbonisation.

Packaging
Our packaging is environmentally friendly and made with reduction of waste in mind. The Boatyard bottle is made from extra flint recycled glass. The cork is natural unvarnished, made from wood sourced from sustainably managed forests in Portugal.

Our label is produced from recycled paper, for bottle shipping we use Flexi-Hex technology, eliminating plastic from this part of the process. Flexi-Hex is 100% recycled with zero trees being felled in production.

Eco-Initiatives
Eco-refill Pouch: Another step towards being carbon-neutral, using these packs to refill Boatyard bottles results in less packaging, whilst also significantly reducing carbon emissions.

Eco-refill Station: Save a bottle and refill it instead. Take any empty 70cl bottle to the Distillery and our team will carefully measure out your desired Boatyard spirit, cutting down on single use glass and cost.

Ultimately, our sustainability mission prioritises quality over speed, people over profit, and legacy over trends. It’s about crafting spirits that tell a story, honour the land, and support a future where time is treated with the respect it deserves.