Whisky Voices: Marie Byrne
This interview is part of my ongoing Whisky Voices Series, where I sit down with leading voices in the whisky world, from distillers and writers to ambassadors and innovators, to capture their unfiltered thoughts on heroes, villains, surprises, trends, and wishes.
This time I’ve spoken with Marie Byrne, a respected voice in Irish whisky whose career spans distillery start-ups, brand building, and category leadership. Marie is a senior leader in the Irish whiskey industry with extensive experience in distillery founding, major capital projects, and post-acquisition operations, most notably at the Church of Oak Distillery.
Beyond operations, she has helped shaped the sector as a founding member of the Irish Whiskey Association and as creator of Ireland’s first B.Sc. in Brewing and Distilling at TU Dublin, significantly advancing female technical representation. Today, she operates as a trusted executive advisor, founder, and board member, influencing the strategic direction of Irish whiskey production, education, governance, and global market positioning.
Whisky Hero
“I can’t limit it to just one,” Marie said, offering two pairs of people who shaped her journey.
First, Dr. Jim Swan and Pat Burke, central to the early days of Dublin Whiskey Company (now Dublin Liberties Distillery).
“Jim had that rare ability, proven again and again with Kavalan Distillery and others, to coax award-winning character from very young spirit. Pat was a huge commercial support and always pushed for a more collaborative industry. Both were founding members of the Irish Whiskey Association in 2014, and Pat’s belief in what the sector could become left a lasting impression.”
Her second pair: Garrett Pitcher and Ian MacMillan.
“I worked with Garrett from day one at Church of Oak Distillery. He built the vision around the consumer; flavour, choice, and pushing boundaries with rye, bourbon, pot still and single malt. Ian, our Master Blender and Distiller, mapped the technical roadmap, double, triple and even 2.5-times distillation, grains in and grains out. It was an epic journey. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Garrett does next.”
Whisky Villain
“No surprise here,” Marie said. “Third-party cask investment companies. If you want to support a distillery, fantastic, just don’t do it through an ‘investment company’. Enough said.”
Whisky Surprise
“Many people still haven’t tasted Poitín,” Marie noted, “and I’d strongly encourage readers to change that in 2026. There are wonderful brands across the island. Sip it neat or try it in a cocktail, it’s really growing in popularity.” Pronounced potcheen, poitín is an unaged Irish spirit distilled in pot stills.
Whisky Trend
“I’d love to see brands get genuinely closer to consumers again,” she said. “2025 was dominated by talk of shareholders, investors, and valuations. Whisky is about connection, people, flavour. All the good stuff! It’s a special business, and we need to protect the simple joy of enjoying a favourite spirit or discovering a new one.”
Whisky Wish
“2025 has been tough, with pressure on many distilleries,” Marie reflected. “But there’s a silver lining. We might finally see more multi-distillery Irish blends coming through. I’m absolutely here for it.”
Sláinte!
- Thomas
