Bréifne Gael – Quite the brewhaha...
For the first time in more than 100 years the Breffni county has its first production brewery.
But before the tanks, fermenters and a newly-opened commercial premises, there was a homebrew setup in Derek McKenna's kitchen and close to a decade tweaking, experimenting with malt and hops, all to try to make a better pint.
Run by Derek and his wife Aleksandra, Bréifne Gael has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Best Emerging Business category at the 2026 Cavan Business and Tourism Awards.
The breakthrough came when their Ór Dubh stout won gold at the National Homebrewing Championship.
“That kind of gave us the spur to think about it seriously,” says Derek. “I’ve always had a dream of opening a brewery, but once we started winning a few awards for the beers, we thought, you know what, maybe we could actually do this.”
The same beer has since been won a silver award in the 2026 Blas na hÉireann Irish F ood Awards.
The couple bought a second-hand German brewing system along with four fermenters. By commercial brewing standards, it is tiny. Each batch produces around 200 litres, roughly 400 bottles. But that's not the point, and scale is not the immediate objective. Derek, who develops recipes himself, explains the core focus is on building a sustainable customer base while maintaining consistency.
The initial result is Bréifne Gael now has beers in around 20 outlets across Cavan including pubs, restaurants and retailers. Its range includes Ór Dubh stout, Mo Chroí Irish lager, Rua Irish red ale and Leann Éadrom West Cavan pale ale.
Weekend brewery tours and a monthly brew school meanwhile allow visitors experience the process of brewing their own beer.
“We’d like to go full-time eventually,” McKenna says. “We just need to build the business up.”
CONTACT US
Bréifne Gael is based in Unit F1 at the Cavan Enterprise Centre on the Dublin Road in Cavan Town [H12H2V3].
Log on to their website at www.breifnegaelbrewing.ie or call 085-1325552 or email breifnegaelbrewing@gmail.com