Cooley Irish Whiskey - Irelands only independent Irish Whiskey Distillery

Cooley Irish Whiskey, Irelands Only independent whiskey distillery

27th February 2007 - Drive and determination sees Cooley Distillery clinch prestigious prize

Cooley Distillery - Ireland’s only independent Whiskey distillery - has been awarded title sponsorship of their own race at Cheltenham Racecourse.

After being a runner up in last year’s competition, Cooley Distillery wowed the judges with an excellent entry, to win the 2006-07 Cheltenham Irish SME Sponsorship Award. The prize, worth over €45,000, includes title sponsorship of a race at the high profile Cheltenham April Meeting on 18th April 2007.

Jack Teeling, Marketing Director of Cooley Distillery, said:

"Everyone at Cooley Distillery is delighted to have been chosen for this unique opportunity and thank Anglo Irish Bank and Cheltenham for their generous support of this Award. By being able to associate our Premium Irish whiskey brand, The Tyrconnell, with the prestigious Cheltenham races provides Cooley with an invaluable marketing tool given the brand’s heritage and historical link to Irish horse racing."

The competition, which is now in its third year, is open exclusively to Irish small-to-medium enterprises. Entrants were judged not only on their vision for the future of their company but also on their flair in exploiting the unique sponsorship opportunity.

Peter McNeile, Director of Sponsorship at Cheltenham Racecourse, said:

"Once again, we have been delighted to see such an impressive flood of entries from across such a broad range of sectors and industries and congratulate everyone who entered. We very much welcome the opportunity to work with Cooley Distillery and are so pleased to see such an intrinsically Irish business, with such strong connections to racing through the Tyrconnell brand – come to Cheltenham. I am certain that the connection between our two brands will resonate particularly strongly with racegoers across both the UK and Ireland."

A presentation ceremony for the winners was held at Anglo-Irish Bank Headquarters in Dublin on Thursday 15th February 2007.

Cheltenham SME Sponsorship Award