bISME
The b Interview
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Soldier, Sailor and Whiskey Maker Stuart McNamara, Director, Portmagee Whiskey
and Chair of ICADA
What do you enjoy about your current role? I enjoy working with teams, whether supporting and contributing to someone else’s team, or building, mentoring and leading my own. In my military career, I was fortunate to work in the areas of innovation, education, liaison, advising and representation. Tell us about Portmagee Whiskey and how it came to fruition?
Stuart with co-directors of Portmagee Whiskey, John and James Murphy Talk us through your career(s) and what has led you to this point? I grew up in West Cork, and I’ve had a wide and varied career journey as a Soldier, Sailor, Whiskey Maker and Digital Entrepreneur. As a Senior Military Officer in the Irish Defence Forces, I served as Joint Operations Center Director in Dublin before subsequent appointments as a senior military advisor in Brussels, Somalia, Uganda and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before changing careers, I commanded the specialist military unit responsible for delivery of enterprise telecommunications, data base administration, software / applications development and cyber-defence for the Irish Defence Forces. In my sporting life, I served for 8 years as Honorary National Trainer of the Irish Sailing Association, developing and implementing national powerboat and motorboat training schemes for Ireland. I skippered Shannon Sprint and Round Ireland Powerboat record attempts and I’m an experienced International Dragon (Ex-Olympic Class) racer and Trans-Atlantic and Caribbean sailor. Whiskey was a lifetime hobby that has become a new career alongside digital entrepreneurship. I’m a Director of Portmagee Whiskey, Chair of ICADA, CTO of eTeachers Global and I’m a brand and product development consultant to several Irish and international whiskey and spirits producers.
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Portmagee Whiskey was founded in early 2017 by brothers John and James Murphy from Portmagee, Co. Kerry. Their Great Great Grandfather had been one of the last policemen to serve in the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Barracks overlooking Portmagee Village until it was burned out during the Irish War of Independence. The ruined barracks on the appropriately named Barrack Hill is on a wonderful site overlooking Portmagee Harbour and The Wild Atlantic Way.
John, a professional colleague of mine in my military career, contacted me in the spring of 2017 and outlined the vision to open a whiskey distillery and visitor centre in Portmagee. I joined the team as a partner, director and whiskey advisor. What can we expect next from Portmagee Whiskey? This Autumn will see us open our “Spirit of the Sea” visitor centre in Portmagee, telling the rich history of Portmagee as the smuggling base of Captain Theobald Magee, the notorious Jacobean Smuggler who gave the village its name. The important role of Seine Boats, whiskey and smuggling in South Kerry is shared through an immersive 360-degree augmented reality theatre housed in futuristic geodesic domes. The next development phase in the restored stone Barracks is it will house Ireland’s most westerly distillery, along with tea rooms, a whiskey shop and a third dome hosting a digital film archive of Seine Boat heritage. Exports to the US and Asia are also planned. True to our Origin Green credentials we have already planted a native Irish woodland on site with 5,430 trees including 550 oak trees. This shoreside woodlands will become a nature trail.
