Andrew Alexander Watt, JP, DL (4 November 1853 – 11 October 1928) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

landowner and businessman with a net worth of over £900,000 at his death in 1928, worth £51.8 million in 2016.

Early life

He was born in 1853 to Samuel Watt of Thornhill and his wife Jane Newman, daughter of Captain Robert Newman, R.N. He was educated at

Foyle College Foyle College is a co-educational non-denominational voluntary grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. The school's legal name is Foyle and Londonderry College. In 1976, two local schools, Foyle College and Londonderry High School, merged unde ...

and then at home by tutors. His family were

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

who had arrived at Claragh in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

during one of the Ulster Plantations.Burke's Irish Landed Gentry by Bernard Burke, 'Watt of Thorn Hill, formerly of Claragh', pg 746

Career

He was the owner of Watt's Distillery, one of the largest distilleries in Ireland, and the creator of many whiskies including the famous

Tyrconnell Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell and Tirconaill, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland. It is associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which was officially named ''County Tirconaill'' between 1922 and 1927. At times it also i ...

, which he named after his racehorse that won the National Produce Stakes against the odds of 100 to 1. During industrial unrest of 1921, brought about by prohibition in the United States and the First World War, Watt's workers at the distillery were made redundant after challenging his authority. Watt is said to have stood on a barrel outside the gates to his distillery in Bogside, whilst the workers were on strike, and shouted, 'Well men, I shall put it to you like this …what is it to be? Will you open the gates?' To which the workers retorted, 'The gates stay shut!' This prompted Watt to reply, 'Shut they are, and shut they shall remain!' Watt subsequently closed down the distillery at great economic expense.

Personal life

On 7 October 1875, he married Violet Flora

de Burgh de Burgh ( , ; ; ) is an Anglo-Norman surname deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (c.1160–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gae ...

, daughter of George de Burgh and Constance Matthews, with whom he had 4 sons and 2 daughters He served as

High Sheriff of County Londonderry The High Sheriff of County Londonderry is King Charles III's judicial representative in County Londonderry. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the ruling monarch, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford ...

from 1886 to 1887. He was a member of

Boodle's Boodle's is a gentlemen's club in London, England, with its clubhouse located at 28 St James's Street. Founded in January 1762 by Lord Shelburne, who later became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and then 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, it is t ...

. He died at

Easton Hall Easton is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, almost north of Colsterworth, and east of the A1 road. History The village has no church, but forms part of the North and South Stoke with Easton c ...

, where he lived in England after he left Ireland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Andrew Alexander People educated at Foyle College 1853 births 1928 deaths High sheriffs of County Londonderry Northern Ireland justices of the peace Deputy lieutenants of Donegal Lawyers from County Londonderry Businesspeople from County Londonderry