Cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...

, an

alcoholic drink An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

made from apples, is widely available in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s, off licences, and supermarkets. It has been made in regions of the island for thousands of years. The

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

term for cider is ''leann úll'' (literally "apple beer") or ''ceirtlís'', derived from ''ceirt'', an

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

term for an

apple tree An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

(cf. the Ogham letter

ceirt Ceirt (''Queirt'') ᚊ (Primitive Irish ''cert'') is a letter of the Ogham alphabet, transcribed as Q. It expresses the Primitive Irish labiovelar phoneme. The 14th century '' Auraicept na n-Éces'' glosses the name as ''aball'', meaning "apple ...

ᚊ).

History

Apples have been eaten in Ireland since 3000 BC, with pips of '' Malus sylvestris'' (European crab apple) found on a site in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

. The law tract ''Boetha Comaithchesa'' of the 7th/8th centuries AD distinguish between wild and cultivated apple trees, indicating that apples were being cultivated at the time. Traditional regions of production were the counties of

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

; it was made by monks in Ireland's many Christian monasteries. The first definite mention of cider in an Irish text is in a 12th-century document from

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

; in 1155, a

Mac Cana The Mac Cana were a Gaelic Irish clan who held lands in Clancann and Clanbrasil in what is now northern County Armagh, and had the title of 'Lords of Clanbrasil'. It is the origin of the surname McCann. Etymology The name ''Mac Cana'' mea ...

chieftain was praised for the quality of his cider. Civil Surveys of the 1650s contain numerous entries regarding orchards and cidermaking. Cider production was a major industry from the 16th century onward, with immigration from

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

s and German Palatines bringing cider-making skills to Ireland. Richard Pococke toured Ireland in 1752, noting that

Affane Affane () is a small village in west County Waterford, Ireland, situated near Cappoquin and the River Blackwater. History References to the town of Affane are limited to its inclusion on a list dated 1300 and an incident in 1312, but the pre ...

, County Waterford was famous for its cider, and that Shannon Grove near

Pallaskenry Pallaskenry () is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. Pallaskenry derives its name from Kenry Castle (the palisaded castle at Kenry), nowadays known as Shanpallas Castle. opographical Dictionary of Ireland, p455, Lewis It was one of the prin ...

had a cider house. Cider making went into decline at the time of the Great Famine (1845–49). Government efforts produced a revival in the late 19th century, but the industry was hit hard again by the world wars. William Magner opened his brewery in

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

in 1935, producing cider on an industrial scale. Magners rebranded cider for young people in the early 21st century, to some success.

Present day

Today, cider accounts for 7.5% of alcohol consumed in Ireland; the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

consumes 64 million litres a year (about 13 litres or 23 pints per person), three-quarters of it of Irish origin. Craft cider is increasing in popularity. Cider makers complain that they are held back by high excise duty on ciders stronger than 6% ABV. There are 45 commercial apple growers in Ireland, with 29% of the planting area going into cider. The

Dabinett 'Dabinett' is an apple cultivar, customarily used in Somerset for making cider. History 'Dabinett' probably dates from the early 1900s, when it was found by William Dabinett growing as a wilding (a natural seedling) in a hedge at Middle Lamb ...

is the most common cultivar.

References

Cider * {{Irish cuisine

History

Present day

See also

References