The brewery site was originally a Franciscan
monastery called
St. Francis Abbey. The Abbey and brewery closed after 300 years due to the
Reformation in Ireland in 1537. Many years later in 1705, the land was leased to John Smithwick and Richard Cole, who started a brewing business. The land at that time was owned by the
Duke of Ormond. In 1710, John Smithwick became the owner, but this was not publicly known because according to the
penal laws, as a Catholic, Smithwick was not allowed to own property. Penal laws were revoked in 1782, allowing the Smithwick family to publicly claim ownership. Many years later, John Smithwick's grandson Edmond Smithwick took over the business. The brewery stayed wholly within the Smithwicks family until 1964, when
Guinness and Company (
Diageo) bought a controlling share of the brewery. The site operated as a brewery until December 2013, when all brewing was moved to
St James's Gate in
Dublin. After Diageo moved brewing operations out of Kilkenny, the site was re-opened in 2014 as a visitor center that focused on the history of the brewery and the brewing process. The visitor centre closed in 2020 due to
COVID-19 restrictions, and it was announced that it was to close permanently in April 2021. It re-opened in July 2022. ==References==