Garda raids on an illegal poitín stills ahead of Christmas have become an annual event.
North Donegal has a long history of poteen making. Trade has waned significantly since those days but some moonshiners are still active in the county, especially in the lead up to Christmas.
Poteen making in Ireland is centuries old and Inishowen in north Donegal was once a stronghold.
Jimmy McBride, a retired teacher from Buncrana, recalls the declaration of the Poteen Republic in Inishowen a few hundred years ago. He believes the decline in poteen making had a lot to do with the influence of the Catholic church. Until the 1960s, if you confessed to a priest that you were making poteen, the priest could not absolve you of your sins and you would have to go to the bishop.
Despite being illegal and the danger to health, some poteen makers still remain. In the lead up to Christmas this year, Gardaí in Buncrana seized a fully operational still, 60 gallons of distilled poteen and 100 gallons of wash. Garda Sergeant Mick Murray, Buncrana, describes the dangers of poteen consumption and the unhygienic manner in which it is produced.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 24 December 2000. The reporter is Eileen Magnier.
