Warning from judge as Offaly pub gets licence to sell whiskey at Ploughing

Paddy Flynn's whiskey from Cloghan will be available for purchase at Offaly business pavilion in Screggan on September 15-17

Published 3rd Sep 2026, 20:00 BST Hundreds of thousands of people attended the Ploughing when it took place in Screggan previously (Picture: Tom O'Hanlon) | Tribune Pictures Paddy Flynn's whiskey from Cloghan will be available for purchase at Offaly business pavilion in Screggan on September 15-17 Sign up to our Offaly Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Offaly Live within your account.

AN Offaly pub has been granted permission to sell its own whiskey at the National Ploughing Championships but can only do so to people aged 25 and over.

Judge Andrew Cody restated his concerns about alcohol consumption at the Ploughing when an application for a licence came before him at Tullamore District Court.

Paddy Flynn Taverns Limited applied for an occasional licence at a stand in a pavilion erected by Offaly County Council at the event, which takes place over three days at Screggan, Tullamore from September 15 to September 17 next.

Robert Scanlon, solicitor for Paddy Flynn Taverns, said a similar application had been made and granted for the 2025 Ploughing and told Judge Cody the hours of trading in the tent would be from 11am to 5.30pm each day.

Mr Scanlon handed in the original licence from Paddy Flynn's pub and said the purpose of the application was business promotion and other businesses would also be located in the pavilion.

Cathal Kenny, Paddy Flynn Taverns Limited, told the court the licence was "not a bar" but would be a stand about 10 feet by five feet where samples of whiskey would be given out in plastic cups.

Mr Kenny said his sister would be staffing the stand and explained that they owned Paddy Flynn's pub for nearly three years where they "run a tight ship".

He said they had launched their own whiskey in September last year. "In addition to launching it at our own bar we also launched it at the Ploughing Championships," he said.

Asked by Judge Cody what would be sold, Mr Kenny said bottles of whiskey would be sold along with samples.

Judge Cody said there had been "serious problems with underage drinking" at the Ploughing and measures had been put in place to counteract that.

He asked if Mr Kenny would be "handing out bottles of whiskey to anybody over 18".

Mr Kenny said they had a policy of selling only to those over 21.

Paddy Flynns whiskey is named after a Cloghan postman | Paddy Flynns "Anybody that's 21 then can get a bottle of whiskey and drink it all day," responded the judge.

When Mr Kenny said the purchased bottles would be put into bags Judge Cody remarked: "They can still go around the corner and drink it."

Mr Scanlon said there would be security staff at the Ploughing and Mr Kenny said identification would be requested from customers to ensure they were over 21.

Judge Cody said he would grant the licence but restricted the serving time from 12 noon to 4pm each day, as is the case with the other bars on the site.

He said no alcohol is to be sold to any person under the age of 25 and valid identification must be presented.

He said if alcohol was sold to children or anybody underage all licences for the Ploughing would be at risk and no applications for licences would be granted next year.

Paddy Flynn's pub is located in Cloghan , Co Offaly and according to the Flynn's Irish Whiskey website the whiskey is named after Cathal Kenny's grandfather, the local postman Paddy Flynn.