Question: What country was the merger Irish Distillers formed?
Context: The North Mall Distillery was an Irish whiskey distillery located in Cork City, Ireland.  In its day one of the most famous distilleries in Ireland, the distillery was destroyed by a fire in 1920.  Distilling operations never resumed at the North Mall after the fire, and it was later converted into a bottling and storage facility which was used by Irish Distillers until 2007, at which point operations were transferred to Irish Distiller's other bottling facilities in Dublin.  In the mid-2000s, much of the site was jointly acquired by University College Cork and Mercy University Hospital, and has since been redeveloped. Kevin McCourt (1915–2000) was an Irish businessman and Director-General of RTÉ between 1962 and 1968.  He also served as Managing Director of Irish Distillers and the Dutch firm Hunter Douglas. Cork Dry Gin is an Irish gin.  First produced in Cork in the Watercourse Distillery circa 1793.  Since 1975, Cork Dry Gin has been manufactured by Irish Distillers, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard, at their Midleton Distillery.  Cork Dry Gin is the largest selling gin brand in Ireland. Redbreast is a brand of single pot still Irish Whiskey produced by Irish Distillers.  It was originally produced by Gilbey's, a Dublin spirits merchants using distillate sourced from Jameson's Bow Street Distillery.  However, in the 1980s, the brand was purchased by Irish Distillers, the producers of Jameson Irish whiskey.  It is the largest selling single pot still Irish whiskey in the world. Midleton Very Rare is a premium Irish whiskey, produced by Irish Distillers at the New Midleton Distillery, in the East Cork town of Midleton, from which it gets its name.  A non-age statement whiskey, containing a mix of pot still and grain whiskeys, it is matured for about twelve to twenty years in ex-bourbon American Oak barrels.  One of the most expensive whiskeys regularly produced by Irish Distillers, since its launch in 1984, Midleton Very Rare has frequently been the receiptient of strong reviews and awards. Green Spot is a single pot still Irish whiskey, produced specifically for Mitchell & Son of Dublin, by Irish Distillers at the Midleton Distillery, Cork, Ireland.  Described by whiskey writer Jim Murray as "unquestionably one of the world's great whiskeys", Green Spot is one of the few remaining bonded Irish whiskeys, and along with Mitchell's older bottling, Yellow Spot, is one of only two whiskeys specifically produced for and sold by an independent wine merchant in Ireland. Cork Distilleries Company was an Irish whiskey distilling company.  It was formed in 1867, when four Cork distilleries, Daly's, the Green, North Mall, the Watercourse were amalgamated under one company to form the Cork Distilleries Company.  In 1868, these were joined by another Cork distillery, James Murphy's Midleton Distillery.  The company existed until 1966, when the Cork Distilleries Company merged with two other Irish distillers, John Powers & Son, and John Jameson & Son to form Irish Distillers. Irish whiskey (Irish: "Fuisce" or "uisce beatha") is whiskey made on the island of Ireland. The Watercourse Distillery was an Irish whiskey distillery which was established in Cork City, Ireland in 1795.  In 1867, the distillery was purchased by the Cork Distilleries Company (CDC), in an amalgamation of five Cork distilleries.  Following the amalgamation, the distillery was mothballed for a period at the beginning of the 20th century.  However, operations at the distillery were later resumed, with production of yeast, industrial alcohol and grain alcohol occurring at the distillery until the 1970s.  Distillation ceased at the facility in 1975, when Irish Distillers, who at that stage owned the Watercourse along with several other distilleries in the Republic of Ireland consolidated its operations in a new, purpose-built distillery in Midleton. Irish Distillers is a subsidiary of the French drinks conglomerate Pernod-Ricard S.A. It is the largest distiller of Irish whiskey, distilling popular brands such as Jameson and Powers, in addition to premium whiskeys such as Redbreast and Midleton Very Rare.  In addition to whiskey, Irish Distillers also produces a number of other spirit products such as gin and vodka.
Answer: Ireland