A Home Built on Kindness
After being evicted from her home on the upper lane for being unable to keep up with rent, Sheila, born Jane Mc Callan, found herself with nowhere to go. At a time when hardship was common and support was scarce, her neighbours stepped in with compassion.
The neighbouring families, the Barney Anns and the Jimmy Hughies (known locally as The Hughies), came together to build her a small cabin just 50 metres down the lane. They placed it on what was called a “March ditch”, a strip of land on the boundary between two farms. Living on a March ditch meant Sheila no longer had to pay rent to a landlord, an essential mercy for a woman with no income.
Sheila’s Life on the Lane
Sheila lived in the cabin from 1898 to 1917, and despite the hardship that led her there, she lived to the remarkable age of 103. Her story is one of endurance, community, and the quiet strength of those who shaped rural Ireland during some of its most difficult decades.
Today, her cabin, and the land around it, forms part of the journey visitors experience at McCallan Bonded. It stands as a reminder that history isn’t only found in books or archives; it is written into fields, lanes, and the foundations of the buildings we walk through today.
Why This Story Matters
Whiskey has always been intertwined with Irish history, a product of the land, the people, and the stories passed from one generation to the next. Sheila’s story reflects a part of Ireland often forgotten: the evictions, the poverty, the migration, and the resilience that shaped our communities.
It is a sad story in many ways, but it is also a testament to neighbourly kindness and the spirit of survival. This is the heritage that surrounds McCallan Bonded. It is part of the fabric of who we are and the legacy we carry forward.
Experience the History Firsthand
Visitors to McCallan Bonded can explore the landscape and discover the sites and stories that came long before our maturation facility. Sheila’s Cabin is just one chapter, but it is a chapter that reminds us why honouring history is so important.
From the land to the whiskey, every part of McCallan Bonded carries a story.