Pearse Lyons

1944 - 2018

LYONS Dr. Pearse, the Irish entrepreneur whose vision for improving global agriculture built a multibillion-dollar international business, died March 8. He was 73. In the late 1970s, Lyons immigrated to the United States with his young family Deirdre, Aoife and Mark. In 1980, Dr. Lyons decided to launch his own business, Alltech, which helped revolutionize the animal feed industry through the introduction of natural ingredients to animal feed. Alltech was set up in a garage with an initial investment of $10,000 and enough money set aside to pay the mortgage and buy groceries for the family for a year. In its first year, the company turned over 1 million dollars. Today, Alltech's team of more than 5,000 people around the world focuses on improving animal, crop and human health and performance. Their mission has always been guided by Dr. Lyons' early commitment to the "ACE principle" a promise that the company's work must have a positive impact on the Animal, the Consumer and the Environment. Dr. Lyons lived with passion and purpose rising before dawn to begin communicating with colleagues around the world, issuing daily "One Minute Charge" motivational messages and traveling incessantly so he could meet his team members and customers in person. Early life Born on Aug. 3, 1944, to Thomas Kevin and Margaret (n‚e Dunne) Lyons and raised in Dundalk, Ireland, he was one of six children. Dr. Lyons received his bachelor's degree from University College Dublin in Ireland, graduating with first-class honors. He obtained master's and doctoral degrees in brewing science from the University of Birmingham. He worked as a biochemist for Irish Distillers and was instrumental in designing the Midleton Distillery for Jameson. Pearse met Deirdre (n‚e Byrne) when she was 17, and they married in 1972. Their daughter Aoife Louise was born in 1973 and son Mark in 1976. All three are leaders in the family business. Brewing and distilling In 1999, Dr. Lyons purchased the former Lexington Brewing Company. The first beer from Dr. Lyons' new brewery, Alltech Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co., was Kentucky Ale®. Several years later, Kentucky Ale was placed into freshly emptied bourbon barrels and became known as Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale®. It is regarded as one of the forerunners of the bourbon-barrel aging trend in craft beer. In 2008, the company distilled its first batches of whiskey, and the company name was changed to Alltech Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. Its Town Branch Distillery was built across the street from the brewery the first new distillery to be built in Lexington for more than 100 years. Town Branch Distillery now produces a line of spirits, including Pearse Lyons Reserve®. Dr. Lyons and Deirdre realized their dream of opening an Irish Whiskey distillery in Dublin when they opened Pearse Lyons Distillery at St. James in 2017. Honors and awards Among his many honors and awards, Dr. Lyons was named Business Person of the Year by Business & Finance magazine and received the prestigious Ireland-U.S. Council Award for Outstanding Achievement. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny recognized him with the St. Patrick's Day Science Medal in recognition of creating a global business based on scientific research. Dr. Lyons spearheaded Alltech's title sponsorship of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky, which led to his receipt of the Commonwealth of Kentucky's first-ever Legacy Award in 2011. Giving inspiration The Lyons family has long had a passion for education. He and Deirdre funded and oversaw the construction of more than a dozen state-of-the-art science laboratories at primary schools in Kentucky and Ireland. The Lyonses also established the Alltech Young Scientist program, the largest global agriscience competition for university students of its kind. More than 450 undergraduates have completed an internship program, and approximately 440 Ph.D., master's degree and graduate students have been supported through Alltech's bioscience centers. Dr. and Mrs. Lyons led Alltech's sponsorship of the Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition, which awards more than $500,000 in scholarships annually to promising young vocalists. Dr. Lyons was particularly well-known for ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference. Held for more than three decades, the event has become Lexington, Kentucky's largest annual room booking, attracting nearly 4,000 people from more than 70 countries. Dr. Lyons is survived by his wife, Deirdre; daughter, Aoife; and son, Mark, and Mark's wife, Holly. His business, Alltech, will remain privately held under the ownership of the family. Funeral Mass will be in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at Cathedral of Christ the King, 299 Colony Blvd., Lexington, KY 40502, 1 PM EDT, and in Dublin, Ireland, in April. Public visitation will begin on Friday, March 16, 2018, Milward-Man O' War, 1509 Trent Blvd., Lexington, KY 40515 from 10 AM to 1 PM and 4 PM to 8 PM. Visitation for current and former Alltech employees will be on Thursday, March 15, 2018, Milward-Man O' War, from 2-5 PM. A special celebration of life will be held on May 20 at the beginning of ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington. In lieu of flowers, the family is encouraging donations to The Alltech ACE Foundation, c/o Heather Brockman, 3031 Catnip Hill Road, Nicholasville, KY 40356. www.milwardfuneral.com