In the early 1900’s, the factory was producing not just 60,000 tins of condensed milk each day but was also producing the tins and transporting the various products of the factory to all parts of the British Empire. Business peaked with the start of World War One in 1914 and condensed milk sales boomed throughout the war. The factory employed in excess of 1,000 workers in the period from 1900 to 1918.

Sir Thomas Cleeve, as he had become, died in 1908, and the business suffered a change in fortune once the war ended, partly due to civil and economic unrest in Ireland at the time. The company went into liquidation in 1923. The State took over the running of the Condensed Milk Company of Ireland and the Cleeves name was maintained only through the continued operation of the sweet factory.

Cleeves Slab Toffee, sometimes with the sub-branding ( Limerick Cream), then became the company's major product until it ceased manufacturing in 1974. The product was exported all over the world and is fondly remembered as being an integral part of Ireland's confectionery industry for most of the 20th century. The product is featured in the international bestseller, Angela's Ashes, the autobiographical account by Frank McCourt of his Limerick childhood.

Brian McMahon acquired the Cleeves brand in 1974 and used the brand on a range of toffee and chocolate products which he manufactured between 1974 and 1986. Between 1986 and 2007, the Cleeves brand was owned first by Clara Candy and then Wilton Candy. Although both companies used the brand name, neither company did anything about reintroducing the slab toffee product.

Leo Cummins of L.C. Confectionery Ltd, acquired Wilton Candy in 2007, and has successfully re-established the Cleeves brand in the international confectionery industry. L.C. Confectionery made it a priority to reintroduce the pivotal Cleeves Slab Toffee product in 2008 - the centenary year of the death of Sir Thomas Cleeve. Cleeves Golden Days toffee is the next Cleeves product to be revived - coming to market very soon.

Condensed History excerpt from
"Faithful Servant ( A Memoir of Brian Cleeve )" by Jim Bruce, ISBN 978-1-84753-064-6