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Thirty-six new jobs are to be created at Echlinville Distillery, based in the Ards Peninsula, as part of a £9m investment.

The plan includes a new visitor centre and an expansion of production capacity for the distillery's brands of Irish whiskey and gin.

Invest NI has contributed £659k towards the project.

It said the posts will be based in the visitor centre, as well as operational and administrative roles.

Shane Braniff, the owner of Echlinville Distillery, said: "Irish whiskey is recognised as the world's fastest growing spirits category, which is giving us a great foundation upon which to build our export business with the help of this funding from Invest NI.

"Every bottle that leaves our distillery features our address in Kircubbin and tells of our roots in the Ards Peninsula.

"Alongside increasing exports around the world, we also hope to raise awareness of what this part of Ireland has to offer and attract more visitors to the area with the development of a dedicated visitor centre."

Invest NI Chief Executive Kevin Holland said the investment was "great news for the local Ards and North Down Borough Council area".

He said the company's Dunville whiskey is "now on the shelves of almost 900 stores across Canada" and the expansion will allow the distillery to "grow further and develop its portfolio of award winning products".