Retrieved evidence verifies that the wild residents of the Ox Mountains in County Sligo, and in particular the Catholic parishioners of Kilmacteigue living by the Windy Gap overlooking Lough Talt, were highly-regarded distillers of some of the finest Mountain Dew ever sipped in Ireland. Highly-regarded, that is, by fellow aficionados of the home-brewed spirit known as Poteen. The British authorities and later the Civic Guard of the Irish Free State took a different view to the producers and imbibers of duty-free liquor.
As a result, an ongoing clandestine war was fought around the south Sligo mountains and boglands for centuries. The policing agencies always boasted of victories in isolated skirmishes, but truth be told, the distillers were never beaten. The “illegal” trading of mysterious lethal brews still persists to this day – albeit that the receptacles containing the wondrous concoction are more likely to be discarded white lemonade bottles these days (if the plastic does not melt).
The newspaper articles below give a “taster” of the never-ending Poteen War:
1923: the judge and police know the flavour (of confiscated hooch)
1926 …. One -Nil
1926 ….. Two – Nil
1926 …. Three – Nil
1926 ….. Three – One (Cloongoonagh fights back)
1926 ….. Three – Two (no prosecutions in No Man’s Land)
1926 ….. Three – Three (if all else fails, use the sick cow defence)
“ANOTHER ONE” led to the Civic Guards retreating to their Barracks in Aclare. The Poteen Pushers could not be stopped. Casual visitors to Cloongoonagh carried on their everyday business. Christmas was coming. Everybody was happy – even the Guards and the Judge, sampling the finest Mountain Dew prior to enjoying their fattened goose dinners.
If you want to know how to make Mad Man’s Soup follow this link at your peril:
Where's Merrill? 