 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Tobacco |
| Founded | 1824; 202 years ago (1824) inDundalk |
| Founder | Patrick James Carroll |
| Headquarters | , Ireland |
| Products | Cigarettes |
| Parent | British American Tobacco |
| Website | pjcarroll.ie |
P. J. Carroll & Company Limited, often calledCarroll's, is anIrish manufacturing company oftobacco. Having been established in 1824, P.J. Carroll is the oldest tobacco manufacturer in the country, and currently asubsidiary ofBritish American Tobacco.[1]
Its cigarette brands were among the best selling in Ireland in the twentieth century. Its factory was for decades the largest employer inDundalk.
Patrick James Carroll (b. 1803) completed his apprenticeship as atobacconist in 1824 and opened a shop in Dundalk, later also manufacturing cigars.[2] He moved toLiverpool in England in the 1850s.[2] His son Vincent Stannus Carroll expanded the firm in the later 19th century.[2] His son James Marmion Carroll moved to a house outside Dundalk.[2] A second factory was opened, in Liverpool, in 1923.[2] The companywent public in 1934.[2]
A purpose-built factory opened in 1970. Designed by Ronnie Tallon ofMichael Scott and Partners, it was described by the journalistFrank McDonald as "way ahead of anything else in Ireland at the time".[3] In 1974, to mark the 150th anniversary of its founding, P.J. Carroll published an illustrated booklet by the writer James Plunkett:P. J. Carroll & Co. Ltd, Dublin & Dundalk - A Retrospect, outlining the development of the company in its historical context.
Carroll's was acquired byRothmans in 1990; Rothmans was acquired byBritish American Tobacco Plc in 1998. The company's share of the Irish tobacco market is around 17%. In 2002, the Dundalk site was sold for €16.4m[4] to theDepartment of Education and repurposed for the campus ofDundalk Institute of Technology.[2][3] Carroll's rented back a small section for its remaining factory operations, until finally ceasing its Dundalk operations in 2008. Carrolls remains an Irish company with deep connections to hundreds of retirees and nearly 40 staff based in their Dublin offices.[citation needed]
In 2013,[5] some lawmakers suggested PJ Carroll should be prohibited from speaking with lawmakers on the basis of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). PJ Carroll comes under the definition of[6] Tobacco Industry as set out by the FCTC, but the FCTC does not prohibit engagement between tobacco companies and public representatives, but puts in place strict rules relating to transparency.
Of international brands, Carroll's manufacturedRothmans andDunhill and distributedWinfield, andLucky Strike[citation needed]
Carroll's was a major sponsor ofsport in Ireland until restrictions were imposed ontobacco advertising. The company hadnaming rights over theGAA All Stars Awards (1971–78);[7] and Irishshowjumping horses of the 1970s and 80s, such as "Carroll'sBoomerang".[8]
Ingolf, Carroll's was the sponsor of several professional tournaments including theCarroll's International (1963 to 1974), theCarroll's Number 1 Tournament (1965 to 1968), theCarroll's Irish Match Play Championship (1969 to 1982),[9] and most notably the revivedIrish Open from 1975 to 1993.[citation needed]
Velo, Carroll'snicotine pouch brand,[10] is a partner of theElectric Picnic music and arts festival in 2025.[11]
|
by the mid-1970s [Paul Darragh] had joined Eddie Macken to compete under the banner of the tobacco company PJ Carroll in a sponsorship deal that ran for 12 long and very successful years.
| Subsidiaries |
|  | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brands | ||||||||||
| People | ||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||
