Nineyards were initially contacted by Irish Distillers in 2018 to come up with a creative direction for an iconic landmark piece to be positioned on the grounds of the historic buildings of Jameson Distillery Bow Street. The piece was to lend itself to being a photographic opportunity to be snapped by the many visitors of Jameson Distillery Bow Street and to have a direct and meaningful connection to the distillery’s history and the fabric of the surrounding buildings. 

The main aim of our design team was to design a piece which could be implemented and mistaken for an entity which had always stood in its place. A piece which looks completely comfortable in its surroundings and is captured and tagged in social media feeds around the world without even question about its relation to the distillery experience.  

Through a series of iterations working closely with the client team, we landed on a sculpture based around the iconic Barrelman image. The Barrelman represents the vast amounts of skilled craftspeople past and present, symbolising the passion and team effort that goes into every bottle of whiskey and was a perfect inclusion to the courtyard. 

Materials and finishes were carefully selected around the Barrelman form. Mild steel, wooden stave like slats and copper all hail from the materiality of the barrels themselves. The piece stands on Kilkenny limestone to complement the tonality of the existing cobble and a historic map has been embossed and etched front and back of the supporting wall as both decoration and information.

There were many factors to consider within the Barrelman implementation. His footprint is within a spot of historic significance and also in a densely populated residential area.

As such we at Nineyards worked closely as the link between the civil works team, Dublin City Conservation teams and the Smithfield Square Residential Committee to keep the works as uninterrupted and sympathetic as possible. All the forward planning and constant communications with all parties paid off with the Bow Street Barrelmen being introduced to his new forever home seamlessly.