George Roe (1796 – 20 July 1863) was an Irish businessman and Whig politician. George Roe was born in

Booterstown Booterstown () is a coastal suburb of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the modern county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is situated about south of Dublin ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, to Peter and Margaret Roe in 1796. The Roe family played a key role in the history of

the Liberties The Liberties ( or occasionally ) is an area in central Dublin, Ireland, located in the southwest of the inner city. Formed from various areas of special manorial jurisdiction, initially separate from the main city government, it is one of Dub ...

in Dublin. In 1819, he married Mary Franklin. He inherited a distillery on Thomas Street from his father in the 1820s, and he amalgamated it with another family distillery in

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

. The combined distillery became known as George Roe & Co, and it covered over from Thomas Street to the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...

. By 1887, George Roe & Co was the largest producer of whiskey in Europe. Roe was a member of

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...

, and he succeeded

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

in 1842. He was a friend of O'Connell's and a supporter of Catholic emancipation. A Liberal in politics, he was a justice of the peace, deputy lieutenant for Dublin City and chief magistrate. He was appointed to the

Wide Streets Commission The Wide Streets Commission (officially the Commissioners for making Wide and Convenient Ways, Streets and Passages) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1758, at the request of Dublin Corporation, as a body to govern standards on the lay ...

in 1847, and was High Sheriff of the city in the same year. Roe's main residence was at Nutley on the Stillorgan Road, now the home of Elm Park Golf club. Due to ill health, Roe retired from both the distillery and his public offices in the 1860s. Advised by his doctors, George and Mary Roe moved to milder climates in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

in Devon, where he died on 20 July 1863. His remains were returned to Dublin for burial in

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount Jerome Cemetery & Crematorium () is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials. Originally an exclusively Protestant cemetery, Roman Catholics have a ...

. After his death, the distillery was inherited by his nephews, Henry and George Roe. In 2018,

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

converted the former

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

power house on Thomas Street into a new distillery, where they produce a whiskey called Roe & Co in honour of George Roe. Diageo also restored the Roe tomb in Mount Jerome Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roe, George 1796 births 1863 deaths Irish businesspeople Lord mayors of Dublin People from County Dublin Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium 19th-century Irish businesspeople