‘The backlash didn’t bother us – we knew selling the Porterhouse brewery to Conor McGregor was best thing to protect jobs’

The brewery was under pressure from the get-go, director Elliot Hughes says – and Covid was disastrous for it

‘We only had a few years and then Covid happened. It’s a very tough business,’ said Porterhouse director Elliot Hughes. Photo: Don MacMonagle

Sean Pollock

The former Porterhouse brewery, now owned by Conor McGregor as the base for his new Forged Stout brand, would have been at risk of closing had it not been acquired by the MMA star.

Speaking with the Sunday Independent in an exclusive interview, Elliot Hughes, a director of Porterhouse, said the brewery – which it opened toward the end of 2017 in Glasnevin following an investment of around €7m – had been “under pressure from the very start”. Despite the brewery sale, Porterhouse continues to operate its network of pubs and craft beer business, which other breweries are now brewing.