Friend at Hand opens whiskey museum following £2m investment

The Friend at Hand whiskey shop in Belfast has invested £2million in a museum space to house the largest collection of Irish whiskeys in the world.

The Hill Street venue, whish is part of the Commercial Court Inns hospitality group headed by well-known publican Willie Jack, hopes to become a focal point for the ongoing resurgence of the industry across Ireland.

Willie Jack, whose other venues include the The Duke of York, The Harp Bar and The Dark Horse, said: “Six years ago when we opened The Friend at Hand, we said we would only sell Irish whiskey.

“We’re strict about this – we’ve come under pressure over the years to diversify and offer Scotch, Japanese whiskeys, gin etc. But we stuck to our guns and only sell Irish whiskeys.

“It would have been very easy to package up the bottles and ship them all over the world but I want people to come to Belfast,

“I want them to come here and have the total experience; enjoy the hotels, restaurants, give trade to the taxi drivers, music venues etc. If they really want the whiskey, they can come to Belfast to buy it.

“Not only do we have the largest collection of Irish whiskeys in the world by a mile, we have an exquisite collection of extremely rare whiskeys, original mirrors, decanters, and other antiques and collectables, collected over the last 40 years. It’s more like a museum than a whiskey shop.”

The Friend at Hand Irish whiskey emporium and museum has been completely transformed by Carrickfergus-based fit-out specialist McCue and features bespoke mahogany cabinetry housing unrivalled collection of whiskeys, rare artefacts and collectables.

Also o display is a remarkable storied carpet, weaved in Killybegs by the same factory that produced carpets for the Oval Office in The White House and for Buckingham Palace.

It bears a Celtic crest that reads ‘Mo Dia – Do Dia, Mo Tír – Do Tír’, which translates as: ‘My God, your God, my land, your land.’

Willie Jack and his late business partner, Bruce Kirk bought the item at auction more than 20 years ago, when he read an article in The Irish Times about the carpet, which once laid on the floor of Bank of Ireland’s headquarters, and thought: ‘I don’t want this going to a skyscraper in New York’.”