Molly Gallivan’s Cottage, Ireland (David Stafford)

Our photo submission is from David Stafford

In the early 1800s, Irish widow Molly Gallivan became a local legend by opening an illegal pub, or “Sibheen,” where she sold her own homemade poitín. A distilled alcoholic beverage made from the mash of whatever was at hand – whey, grains, potatoes – Gallivan’s poitín became known as “Molly’s Mountain Dew.” And, yes, the makers of Mountain Dew used the slang term for moonshine used by rural Appalachian Irish immigrants to name their sweet soda.

Back in County Kerry, Ireland, Molly Gallivan’s small mountain farm needed additional income to provide for her seven children. As luck would have it, a new carriage road was built over the pass near her home and soon wealthy English tourists were visiting on scenic tours. Gallivan took advantage of the crowds by opening a tea shop and selling her knitted sweaters. She further developed this into a local wool industry that supported her neighboring sheep farming families.

Today, visiting the 200-year-old Molly Gallivan cottage is a step back in time. Her smallholding still houses cows, pigs, sheep, hens and a field of potatoes on the few acres she would have rented from her landlord. The craft shop and tearoom sell locally made woolens and food. And a poitin still continues to make her famous mountain dew, which can be tasted with a traditional Irish meal.