Achill Island brewery placed into provisional liquidation

A provisional liquidator has been appointed by the High Court to a small brewery on Achill Island.

Mr Justice Paul Gilligan on Friday appointed chartered accountant John Healy, of Kirby Healy Chartered Accountants, as provisional liquidator to Tairgi Acla Ltd after being told the company is insolvent and unable to pay its debts. It has a creditors list totalling €158,000, the court heard.

The company, located at Bunnacurry, Achill Island, operated a facility known as the Achill Island brewery, making the Achill brand beer from natural mountain lake water and carrageen moss.

Seeking the appointment, Rory Kennedy BL, for the company, said the decision to wind up the firm was made because it no longer had insurance, a brewing licence and the “electricity was about to be turned off due to non-payment of debts.”

The company wanted a liquidator appointed in order to secure the company’s assets and stock and so the brewrey’s two employees could process their claims for redundancy, arrears of wages and holiday pay before Christmas.

The company was set up in 2014 by brothers Malcolm and Dermot Cooney, from Achill, and their UK based cousins, Anthony and Daniel Keating, counsel said.

The relationship between the cousins had broken down and the company has not been able to trade properly for some months and had ceased trading, he said.

A meeting of the company was held earlier this week where the members unanimously agreed it was in best interests of the creditors and former employees a liquidator be appointed, counsel added.

Mr Justice Gilligan made the appointment and adjourned the matter to next month.