Pearse Lyons Whiskey Distillery: Legacy Experience
Overview
Available languages
Mobile ticket
Located in Dublin’s historic Liberties, Pearse Lyons Distillery, Dublin’s only boutique distillery, is a five-minute walk from The Guinness Storehouse. Nestled in the former Church of St.James, this distillery has a colourful history dating back to the 12 Century.
On tour of the distillery and surrounding graveyard, guests are introduced to the compelling characters from Dublin’s famous distilling and brewing district. This district, rich in culture and tradition, was once a place of booming industry known as The Golden Triangle.
The Pearse Lyons Distillery produces some of Ireland’s finest small batch Irish whiskies and celebrates the Irish tradition of storytelling on each guided tour. Guests enjoy a sensory experience as they are brought through the distilling process, before enjoying whiskey and gin tastings at our tasting bar.
All of our booklets, interactives and welcome video are translated in seven languages.
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Minimum age is 18 years for tasting experience
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Pearse Lyons Distillery
Our guided tours are hosted by our team of friendly storytellers, who will regale you with intriguing tales dating back to the 12th Century. Our distillery tours are small in size and in keeping with our boutique nature, so you can enjoy a more personal experience. • Each tour includes a guided tour of St. James' cemetery and takes in the history of the former St. James Church. • Once inside our distillery, our storyteller will walk you through the distilling process from start to finish. Here visitors get to touch, taste and smell each step of distilling. • Like all good whiskey tours, we save the best until last, with a special tasting of five signature Pearse Irish Whiskeys and our handcrafted Irish gin at our tasting bar. • Visitors are then free to take a stroll through our gift shop and soak up the atmosphere in our adjoining bar, McCann's.
What‘s Included
Alcoholic Beverages
Gin tasting
Irish Whiskey tasting
Local storyteller
Souvenirs and gift shop items (available to purchase)
Options
Legacy Tour & Tasting
Duration: 1 hour: Guided tour of the site, taking in James's St. Graveyard and Pearse Lyons Distillery. Includes 5 tastings.
Reviews
124 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Delicious drinks, great craic
ColmL10,,Dec 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Alix was an amazing mixologist, explainer and teacher. We had a great time making delicious cocktails and chatting with our “classmates”. The whole experience was fun and I can’t wait to try making some at home!
Great experience
Curious62129362005,,Dec 19, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Alix was amazing and very informative. Highly recommend for anyone who wants to learn more about Irish whiskey outside of Jameson. The gin was also very good!
Great Irish whisky experience
899pieters,,Dec 15, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a great experience, mainly thanks to our excellent and enthusiastic guide, who could explain all subtle nuances to us.
Whiskey and History - Great Experience and Combination
50Smart,,Dec 15, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Finally made it to Pearse Lyons Distillery Tour. Its been on my list of things to do in Dublin for a long time - too long. It was a wonderful experience and well worth the wait. Firstly, the welcome from the staff at reception - warm, helpful and friendly. Next up Bernard our tour guide for the first part of the tour which started with a short video about the history of the church and the distillery. It was lovely to hear Dr. Lyons on screen talking about the distillery and the vision for the site. History of the grave yard and those who are buried there was fascinating. Next up the tour of the distillery and our guide Liam was excellent and very patient with all our questions. Thoroughly enjoyed the Whiskey and Gin tasting but also learning about how water impacts the taste of whiskey. As a Camino walker, I loved the stain glass window designed by Dr. Deirdre Lyons and the other Camino mementos exhibited. A thoroughly enjoyable experience. Well worth a visit.
A God Like Experience
Hamish P,,Dec 12, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Very relaxing experience if you manage to get a small group. We however were with a group of 12 who did not spoil the experience just made it much harder to hear and ask questions. The guide though was excellent
Great to support an independent business.
sarahaR2162RD,,Dec 7, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00A very interesting tour with an informative guide. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, especially the whiskey tasting. It was also nice to support an independent business.
A great choice if you are looking for a distillery experience.
Whitby1964,,Nov 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Really enjoyed this experience and the whole history of the renovation of this beautiful building - and I don't even like whiskey! Our guide was great (a young French lady whose name I've forgotten - apologies). My friend and I were able to book different "experiences" for the same time slot so she was able to taste several different samples. For non whiskey drinker the gin is AMAZING.
Great history and product
NessitaCollado,,Nov 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Excellent tour. Liam was extremely thorough with the location’s history, the product lineage and flavors. We had an amazing time!
An Unique Distillery
P1162VNjamesw,,Oct 26, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We took the tour – the distillery is in a small church a stone’s throw from the Guiness Storehouse. The tour guide was wonderful and gave a comprehensive history of both the church (90,000 graves in the church-yard) and how the distillery was started and constructed (they had to remove part of the roof to install the pots). After the history lesson, another guide provided insights into how their Irish Whiskey is distilled and provided tastings. It isn’t the largest distillery but it certainly the most unique.
Love the history
Khm2000,,Oct 26, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great tour done by Liam. The history of the distillery is very interesting. The whiskey is very good. Highly recommend. We also did the Gin School with Caroline. She was great too. You actually still your own Gin with the botanicals you pick. Very fun, you take home the entire bottle, 750ml and they serve you 3 gin cocktails while you wait for the gin to still. Also highly recommend
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