The Shed Distillery of PJ Rigney: How Openness, Inclusion and Long‑Term Thinking Built a Global Success Story in Rural Ireland

At a time when Ireland faces rising polarisation, hostile narratives, and growing threats to its hard‑won reputation as an open and welcoming society, business leaders have a critical role in safeguarding social cohesion and setting a positive example.

Ibec’s Open for Business campaign highlights that leadership role, helping to champion how openness, inclusion and long‑term thinking strengthen both our economy and our communities. Few stories embody those principles more vividly than that of Pat Rigney and The Shed Distillery of PJ Rigney in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim.

The Shed’s journey, shaped by community, global ambition, and a belief in Ireland’s capacity to compete on the world stage, illustrates how openness is not just a value, but a practical strategy for resilience and growth. Their experience offers important lessons for businesses across the country as they seek to counter division, foster cohesion and help ensure Ireland remains open for business.

Community at the Heart of Business

From its inception, The Shed Distillery was built on the principle of inclusion. Located within a social enterprise in rural Drumshanbo, openness “has been in our DNA since the outset,” Rigney explains, noting how the business embraced the local community from day one. When the distillery opened in 2014, the region faced high unemployment and limited economic opportunities. Yet, through deliberate recruitment and training, The Shed Distillery grew from a single employee to more than 110 people, the majority drawn from Drumshanbo and the surrounding areas.

This model of inclusive hiring was not accidental. “We hire for attitude, character and work ethic, not necessarily skills or experience. We then train individuals for their roles,” he says. The result is a diverse team that includes people who had never worked before, career changers, and international employees who found community in Drumshanbo. When the Ukrainian crisis unfolded, the distillery hired 18 Ukrainian workers who integrated seamlessly thanks in part to existing Moldovan staff who spoke Russian. This blend of backgrounds, Rigney notes, “means we have a high‑energy team with a mix of skills and attitudes we all benefit from.”

This ethos reflects one of the central messages of the Open for Business campaign: inclusion is not only socially valuable, but also economically smart. By broadening participation and nurturing talent, businesses help strengthen communities, build trust, and create shared prosperity.

The company’s commitment to openness is also visible in the broader social impact of the distillery. Beyond its economic contribution, The Shed Distillery has become deeply interwoven with local life: collaborating on tidy towns initiatives, supporting GAA activities, contributing to charity work, and even restoring the village’s former Methodist church for community use, fully funded by the business. These community‑driven actions have helped foster loyalty, pride and a sense of shared ownership.

This is the kind of grassroots, cohesion‑building activity that the Open for Business campaign seeks to amplify: business leadership not as corporate messaging, but as lived commitment.

A Career Built on Long‑Term Thinking

Rigney’s inclusive leadership style has deep roots. As profiled recently in Drinks Industry Ireland, his early years in Clonmel introduced him to the value of community as well as the ambition of Ireland’s drinks sector. His time with Baileys saw him managing half of its global business, helping transform it into the world’s leading liqueur brand. These experiences shaped his belief that Irish enterprise thrives when it embraces internationalism, originality and long‑term value over short‑term gain.

This approach underpins the success of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin. It also informed The Shed Distillery’s decision to become a year‑round visitor destination attracting 70,000 people annually, a major cultural and economic boost for rural Leitrim.

In many ways, Rigney’s story mirrors Ireland’s broader economic success. As the Open for Business briefing note stresses, Ireland’s progress has been built on openness: openness to people, trade, investment, ideas and diversity of identity. But that progress is not guaranteed and must be defended from rising hostility, misinformation and division.

Openness as a Strategic Advantage

Rigney believes the future success of Irish businesses will rely heavily on preserving this international reputation for openness. His own company demonstrates how these values translate directly into resilience. International partners, he says, are “highly impressed” by the cultural depth of the workforce and by the distillery’s commitment to embracing people of different backgrounds. Ensuring the brand remains globally credible includes maintaining Kosher verification, complying with geographic protection rules and adhering to global production standards - all markers of open, outward‑facing enterprise.

In an uncertain global trading environment, inclusion isn’t an add‑on but rather it’s a competitive advantage.

The Role of Business in Countering Division

Asked what role Irish businesses can play in countering misinformation and divisive narratives, Rigney’s answer is simple: lead by example. “Quietly, confidently and firmly,” he says, businesses must continue to show what openness looks like in practice.

This aligns squarely with Ibec’s campaign goals. With reports citing approval for hostile activism and misinformation is rising, business remains the most trusted institution in Ireland, viewed as ethical, competent, and capable of protecting stakeholder interests. That trust places a responsibility on leaders like Rigney to help steer national conversation back towards facts, fairness and shared progress.

An Irish Success Story for an Open Future

Rigney’s story is not just about building a distillery. It is about demonstrating what Ireland can achieve when businesses engage openly with their communities, hire inclusively, and commit to long‑term thinking. In Drumshanbo, openness has produced global success. But its impact reaches far wider.

At a moment when the values that have shaped modern Ireland are under pressure, leaders like Pat Rigney remind us of something vital: Ireland thrives when it remains open to people, open to ideas, and open for business.