After last week’s visit to Glastry, I drove south to the townland of Echlinville. I only knew of one place in Echlinville – the distillery.

I have been buying products from the Echlinville Distillery, but probably not what you are expecting. Here is a photo of my supply of hand sanitiser!

Maybe it’s time to sample other bottles from the Echlinville Distillery? If you’ve tried their whiskey or gin, which drink would you recommend?

The Echlinville Distillery website describes their history like this:

Charles Echlin bought the two storey property in Rubane in the early 1700s and renamed it the Echlinville House & Estate.

The Echlinville Distillery became Northern Ireland’s first licensed distillery in over 125 years distilling its first spirit in 2013.

Why do they say that the house was ‘in Rubane’? Before the arrival of the Echlin family, the townland was called Rubane, as a translation of the Irish Rubha Bán  meaning ‘white clearing’. Rubane has not disappeared completely: it is used for the name of the village – and for local businesses like the kennels.

On a hunt for the townland name, I found both Echlinville and Rubane carved on headstones in the churchyard at Lisbane.

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MORE INFORMATION

Which civil parish is Echlinville in?  Inishargy

Which county is Echlinville in?  County Down

Which townlands border Echlinville?  To the north, Rowreagh. To the east, Ballygraffan. To the south, Ballycran More and Ballycran Beg.

Click here for a map of Echlinville on townlands.ie.

And finally, click here to read about the townland’s name on my usual source PLACENAMESNI.ORG