Back in the 19th century, however, this county was at the center of an illegal trade in poitín – or Irish moonshine. Inishowen in particular was such a hive of illegal activity that the area was jokingly referred to as the Urris Poitín Republic. Fed up with the heavy fines, the people of Urris declared themselves the independent nation of the “Urris Republic of Poitín” and sealed themselves in by collapsing the pass in 1812, McLaughlin-Doherty explains. The townspeople were able to be self-sufficient because of their farmlands and fishing, thus allowing the Urris Republic of Poitín to last for three years before the coup was ended in 1815. The Catholic Church, a stronghold in Ireland, was instrumental in the eventual curbing of illegal poitín production.

---

Persons: there’s, Malin, –, uisce, Innis Murray, Martin Hegarty, Jennifer McLaughlin, Doherty, “, Urris, McLaughlin, Poitín, ”, Pat Doherty, poitín, Clara Molden, Aengus King, Pádraic Ó Griallais, Poitin, Ó Griallais Organizations: CNN, Donegal, distillers, Irish Ancestral Tours, Research, “, Catholic, Camera, Drinks, Micil Distillery, Revenue, Department, Agriculture Locations: Inishowen, Ireland’s, There’s, Clonmany, Lenan, poitín, Republic, Ireland, Sligo, Urris, Poitín Republic, Poitín, Urris Republic, Republic of Urris, Ireland’s Shannon, Dublin, Drinks Ireland, Galway, “, Britain