Link to a
map .
The parish of Carrigallen
is at the hub of three provinces, Ulster, Leinster and Connacht.
The village is not
renowned for its financial centre, its shopping mall or as a place
specialising in French cuisine, but rather as the
centre of a vibrant community whose people appreciate the important
things in life such as its heritage, its culture
and its Christian values, which have made it a peaceful and harmonious
place to live in. Its lakes and rivers are the
envy of many and to quote George Burrows, angling correspondent
of the Irish Times, it is the sort of place that
men from crowded cities love. There are no fewer than 14 first-class
fishing waters within a radius of three miles,
three of them within easy walking distance of the town.
Fishing is a sporting
activity which people have participated in for as long as the
area has been inhabited. However,
angling tourism has its origins in more recent times. As quite
often happens, it took an outsider to identify the
natural resource which is our waterways.
Bernard O'Reilly, born
in Manchester, whose parents originated from Cornafean, came to
Gowna in the mid forties
and purchased what was then called Breffni House, now known as
the Lodge. He and his wife quickly developed a
flourishing family-orientated tourist accommodation business.
His clientele at the time came to enjoy the peace, the
harmony, and the tranquillity of this rural idyll. At this time
angling tourists were not part of the local scene. He
recalled from his time in Manchester the exodus of city based
anglers to the country-side at weekends. Inspired by
these memories and despite the fact that the tourist board gave
little encouragement, he established contact with
angling clubs in the Manchester area.
In 1948 the first anglers
arrived. Such was the response to what appeared to many a hare-brained
idea, that he was
not capable of accommodating the number of anglers. It was not
long until he had encouraged local householders to
enhance their family income by keeping anglers. By 1955 saturation
point was reached in the Gowna area;
consequently the surplus spilled over into the available accommodation
around Arva. It was fortuitous that Mrs
Fitzpatrick (formerly Sheridan) from Calloughs, then running
a guest-house in Arva, prevailed on her sister, Mrs
Ben Harte, who with her husband purchased the Ulster Bank premises
in Main Street, Carrigallen, with the intention
of starting a guest-house/hotel, to keep her excess anglers. This
was the spring/summer of 1955 and was the origin
of angling tourism in Carrigallen.
A meeting was held in
the national school in the spring of 1956 with a view to forming
an angling club for the
purpose of providing angling tourism in the area. No formal committee
was formed, but Ben Harte, who had
recently retired from the garda, was appointed chairman. Many
of the local anglers were involved in this
organisation at its formation. Teachers, gardai, clergy, the local
business people and the farming community were
represented. Present at that inaugural meeting were George Stewart,
Jim Brewster, Fr McNiff, Frank McGlynn,
Mick Hackett, JJ Dolan, Ben Harte, Barney Doonan and Vincent Hoban.
While many meetings were
held and matters of local interest discussed, no real progress
was made. However, they
sought help from the Inland Fisheries Trust. That help came in
the person of Toby Sinclaire, a development officer
with the trust. He proved to be of invaluable assistance. He was
an avid angler, and, as an Englishman, was familiar
with the English fishing scene, which was then the market they
were targeting. He suggested making contact with
key individuals in English angling clubs and, being from Manchester,
he initially approached clubs in that area. Four
men from the Mosside Angling Club agreed to come on a fact-finding
mission. In 1958 these men arrived and were
supplied with full board in JJ Dolan's and Harte's.
During their visit they
were lavish in their praise of local hospitality and, most importantly,
in the quality of the
angling which they experienced. A short time later they wrote
a glowing report of their experience. They indicated
that there was a great deal of interest from their fellow anglers
in visiting Carrigallen. This proved to be the case as
later, in 1958, 39 anglers from the Mosside Club arrived in Carrigallen.
In a village with a population of less than
300, this must have appeared like a virtual invasion, but benevolent
invaders they were. The local club made the
necessary arrangements regarding accommodation which was provided
by Harte's Hotel, Mrs Johnny Connell,
Mrs Tom Lockhart, Mrs Nancy McManus and Mrs Barney Doonan.
It was not the practice
at the time for anglers to bring or hire self-drive cars. So,
by arrangement with the local club
or landlady, Maloney's hackney service in Cavan town would collect
anglers at the port of entry and convey them to
their accommodation. Larry McDermott started his own hackney business
in later years and provided this service:
breakfast, packed lunch, an evening meal and return trip was £10
per week. This figure remained unchanged for
quite a number of years. Obviously inflation was not rampant at
the time!
The success of the Mosside
anglers' visit was a great boost both to the local economy and
to the angling club.
Consequently, a formal committee was formed with Vincent Hoban
as the local contact. His function was to answer
enquiries from prospective anglers. Vincent retained this position
until 1962, when Joe McHugh senior assumed this
responsibility.
Toby Sinclaire continued
to play a key role in the affairs of the club. He acted as a consultant
and was a source of
inspiration. It was he who established that the water quality
of Carrigallen and Clooncorrick lakes was suitable for
stocking with tench. This was carried out in 1960 and he was vindicated
when, in 1963, a tench caught in
Clooncorrick lake created a new Irish record. This was a significant
event and for the first time the angling press
took note of the club's activities and this created a very positive
impact. This publicity, coupled with the club's
advertising efforts, firmly established Carrigallen as an angling
centre.
The club held its first
angling competition in 1961. This was a low-key affair in comparison
to future competitions.
The experience gained encouraged them to apply to the Coarse Fishing
Federation for permission to host the
All-Ireland coarse fishing championship. Their first application
was unsuccessful but they persisted and, in 1965,
they hosted the championship. This required huge local effort
and the community were not found wanting. A great
many people played a part but special tribute must be paid to
the officers and committee members. Among them
were: Fr Charles Cartwright, JJ Dolan, Mick Hackett, Barney Doonan,
Fr Patsy Young, Michael Duignan, Jack
O'Neill, Ben Harte, Frank McGlynn and Joe McHugh senior.
(Above) Fr. Charles A. Cartwright, PP, Carrigallen Angling
and Town Development Association and Minister
Brian Lenihan, (Minister for Justice) after the presentation
of awards in the All-Ireland Course Fishing
Championships, Sunday June 26th 1965.
This was truly an international event, as more then 350 anglers
took part. They came from England, Scotland,
Wales, and from all parts of Ireland. The competition was described
in the Anglo-Celt in 1965 as the most successful
to date. There were many categories but the premier award for
the heaviest catch was the Ballinamore Perpetual
Challenge Cup plus £100, which was won by David A Grundy,
Manchester. The presentations were made in the
parochial hall later that evening by the Minister for Justice,
Brian Lenehan. He was lavish in his praise for the
manner in which the committee organised the event.
Fr John A Young, then
CC Ballinamore, who was the president of the All-Ireland Fishing
Council at the time, was
instrumental in getting this prestigious competition for Carrigallen. The success
of the All-Ireland Championship
was reflected in the thinking of the club and resulted in a broadening
of its agenda. From records relating to the
time, the meetings were now discussing such things as street lighting,
approach roads and improved signposting.
It is obvious the club was fully aware of the product it had and
its tourist potential. Members were determined to
leave no stone unturned in realising that potential and increasing
the number of anglers coming to the area.
Despite
the enthusiasm engendered, no major strides were made. However
among the tasks undertaken was the sign-posting
of lakes and the stocking with bream of Gangin, Mosey and the
Town Lake. Promotional tours, production and
distribution of brochures, and Angling Times advertising was also
a normal part of the club's efforts. This resulted
in a big increase in visiting anglers.
Fr Malachy Byrne PP was
now an enthusiastic member of the club. Among his many contributions
was a proposal
to stock Cullies lake with trout. He was keenly supported by Mick
Hackett and Barney Doonan. To indicate the
achievements of the Angling and Tourist Development Association,
from its formation with no visiting anglers in
1956 through 1958 with 39 anglers, in 1969 450 anglers came to
the area, generating revenue locally of £10,000.
The year 1969 saw a serious
escalation in the Northern Ireland troubles and this was reflected
in a decrease in the
number of visitors to the area. This downturn continued unabated
for a number of years and was a matter of grave
concern. This was reflected in a lengthy discussion that took
place at an AGM in the early seventies, where the
question of the desirability or otherwise to keep the club in
existence was raised.
(Above) Kilnamar Lake on opening day 1972.
Obviously the club and
tourist promotional activity did continue. In order to boost club
finances, dances were held,
as well as an auction, which became an annual event. For this
latter venture Peter Donohoe (auctioneer) made his
services available to the club. The 13th All-Ireland Championship was
once again entrusted to the club in June 1972.
Due to a downturn in tourism in the country generally and the
realisation that the English market was partially lost,
at least for the time being, the advertising was aimed at attracting
Irish anglers. While the 206 entries received was
well down on the entries for the championship of 1965, the event
was deemed to be successful, considering the
difficult circumstances of the time. The event comprised the usual
nine categories. The main award for the heaviest
catch, which once again was the Ballinamore Perpetual Challenge
Cup plus £100, was won by Bernard Brewer,
Tullamore. All the categories were won by Irish competitors, which
was indicative of the smaller number of English
participants. Once again this was an all-out community effort,
which was co-ordinated by Michael Duignan, who had
been appointed field officer. At a subsequent meeting, compliments
were paid to the Fisheries Board and their staff
for their advice and assistance rendered.
The summer of 1973 saw
a slight improvement in the number of English anglers. Next year
the number remained
static. So for the first time the club attempted to break into
the German market by advertising in fishing magazines
such as Fisch und Fang. It was the summer of 1976 before this
bore fruit, when anglers from Belgium and Germany
arrived in the area. On Whit weekend of that year a fishing competition
took place at Gulladoo in which 30
continental and 20 English anglers took part.
The recovery of angling
tourism continued steadily and in 1978 a record number of anglers
came to the area from
Britain, Germany, France and Belgium. Harte's Hotel had been extended
and refurbished, Joe Morrow and his wife
Carmel had developed an extensive chalet layout, and there was
already guest-house accommodation available.
Despite this the number of beds available in the locality was
far short of demand. This problem was not addressed at
the time and we can only assume that much business was lost to
the area. This problem continued in 1979 and
attempts were made to encourage more householders to provide B&B.
The problem was worsened by the fact that
some of the established B&Bs decided to cease operating, among
them Mrs Johnny Connell, Mrs Tom Lockhart,
Mrs Barney Doonan, Mrs Michael Reilly and Mrs Robbie Reilly. Coupled
to this was the untimely death of Joe
Morrow in 1982. On the plus side, however, from about 1982 on
new B&Bs began to come on stream. Starting
with Mrs Bernadette Heslin, the following have since come into
the business: Mrs Lottie McGerty, Mrs Anne
Murray, Bill and Bobbie Hawthorne, Mrs Rita O'Rourke, Mrs Anne
McGovern and Mrs Anne Lomasney.
While coarse fishing
in the area was of prime interest and was the reason for the formation
of the angling club in
1956. Mick Hackett had suggested in 1958 the stocking of Calloughs
Lake with trout. This proposal came to nought
for reasons unknown to us. Again, in the late sixties Canon Byrne,
who was an avid fly-fisherman, proposed the
stocking of Cullies with trout. We do not know the problems at
the time in this regard, but both proposals were
never more than an aspiration, one which could well have totally
evaporated after the death of Mick Hackett in 1976.
However, inspired by the conversations he had with his father,
Michael Hackett (Mick's son) approached the
Central Fisheries Board in 1983 with the proposal that Calloughs
Lake should be developed as a trout fishery. Cullies
Lake was not considered suitable because of its seasonal flooding:
in winter Cullies Lake and Ballygad River merge
at high water level which would result in the trout escaping.
Also proper control of the pike and roach population
would not be possible, which is a necessary management requirement
for any trout fishery. Calloughs Lake however
seemed suitable in all regards. The Fishery Board was enthusiastic
about the proposal but they had to confirm the
suitability of the lake. This entailed having a survey done, which
was not concluded until late in 1984.
(Left) Liam Grimes & Michael Doherty on Calloughs
Lake on opening day, May 1992.
(Right) Gary Reilly pictured with his father John, also
Kieran O'Rourke, May 1992.
The outcome of the survey was positive: Calloughs Lake was indeed
suitable. The proposal to the fisheries board
was not just that this lake should be stocked, but that they would
manage it for fly-fishing only. Due to financial
constraints they could not undertake this development for the
foreseeable future. This of course was a serious
setback to the plans of Michael Hackett, but he did not let the
matter rest. Mindful of what had happened to previous
proposals, he continued to harass the fisheries board until they
agreed to supply 500 trout free of charge. With the
support and financial assistance of the Angling and Town Development
Association, an iron grid was made and put
in place on the outlet stream. The McCartin brothers, Newtowngore,
sponsored the predator control measures. A
club was then formed whose first officers were: chairman-Michael
Hackett, vice-chairman-Larry Williams,
secretary and treasurer-Gretta O'Neill. While it was the initial
intention to have fly-fishing only, it was unanimously
agreed at the first meeting, when the rules of the club were being
drawn up, to allow all legal fishing methods.
Arrangements were made to take delivery of the first 500 trout,
which were supplied by a Mullingar fish-farm. A
dream had come true for a small group of local enthusiasts, not
least Canon Byrne, who had been a source of
inspiration from the outset of this project.
The fish were released
into the lake in mid-May and the first trout was caught in Calloughs
lake on the opening day
which was the first Sunday in June 1986. Since then stocking has
taken place annually at the end of March. The first
Sunday in May is now established among the important dates in
the sportsperson's calendar as the annual opening of
the trout fishing season at Calloughs.
(Left) Johnny Fyfe & Eugene Doherty, two of the local
trout angling club's members. c 1987.
(Right) Members of Carrigallen Angling Club; Greta O'Neill,
Hughie Reilly, Seamus McManus & Larry Williams.
In 1986 the club had a membership of 42, which gradually increased
over the years. On June 1st 1996 it stood at
124. As membership increased the stocking requirement increased,
and 2,700 brown and rainbow trout were put
into the lake in 1996. Membership is mainly from the three surrounding
counties but members came from as far
afield as Dublin, Tipperary and Kildare, as well as British and
continental anglers. This club has been an
outstanding success and, while it is invidious to mention names,
special tribute must be paid to Gretta and Jack
O'Neill who issue the permits, Larry Williams, Seán Heslin,
Hughie Reilly, Seamus McManus, who is the present
chairman, and Brian Doyle who was chairman in 1995. In a separate development, Kilneman Lake
was stocked with
trout in 1994, and again in 1995 and 1996. It is fished by about
30 members.
An honour for the club
in 1993 was the nomination by the fishery board of Gretta O'Neill
to the management
committee of the Northern Fisheries Development Society and her
subsequent appointment by the Minister for
the Marine, Dr Michael Woods, TD. Gretta was elected chairman
that year and has held the position of treasurer
in subsequent years. At present, club membership fees are £20 for
adults and £10 for juniors. This fee is not looked
upon as a charge for fishing but merely to generate revenue for
the annual stocking. Despite the uncertainty of
making a prediction, I feel that the future of the club is assured.
(Left) Ken Smith with his 'catch' who has fished Carrigallen
for years.
"I have visited Carrigallen two or three times per year
for many years. I find the hospitality excellent.
Carrigallen is a haven for me".
(Right) A fine catch by Norman Culyer on Glasshouse Lake.
While the efforts of the Town Development Association continued
unabated from its inception until 1993, the
association could not engage in outdoor events because of the
litigiously orientated society in which we now live
and the fear of compensation claims in the event of accident.
Consequently it was deemed necessary to change its
name and form a limited company, which it is now know as the Carrigallen
Development Company. While
the
objectives and aims of the new company are the same as that of
the previous organisation, the playing-field and rules
of engagement have changed. The business has now become cut-throat
and every new visitor must be competed for
vigorously with the surrounding towns and villages. Holiday promoters
from every part of Ireland, Britain and the
continent are now competing and any part of Europe could well
become the destination of coarse fishermen, as well
as Ireland.
The profile of the typical
British angler is that of a working class man, and unfortunately
this sector of British
society has taken a hammering in recent times, with the closure
of the coal mines and the privatisation and
rationalisation of the industrial base etc. One of the downsides
to Ireland's economic boom at present is the strength
of the punt, which militates against sterling in terms of its
conversion rate.
It is now the experience
of the local organisation, when promoting angling tourism, which
was once unique to this
area, to find themselves competing at a promotion centre in Britain
with hundreds of competitors from all parts of
Ireland. Also the British angler has now become a well-informed
and discerning consumer who wants value for
money. At
this stage we feel that tribute must be paid to the founding fathers
and those people who made a worthy
contribution down through the years. They are: Ben Harte, Barney
Doonan, John Joe Dolan, Michael Duignan,
Dr Matt Cusack, Mick Hackett, Vincent Hoban, Joe McHugh, George
Stewart, Frank McGlynn, Fr Pat McNiff,
Fr Eddie Lynch, Fr Charles Cartwright, Fr Patsy Young, Fr Malachy
Byrne, Rev Mr Scott, Monsignor John A
Young, Matt Cusack, Joe Doonan, Alfie Harte, Jack O'Neill, Joe
Morrow, Bernadette Heslin, Elizabeth McGlynn,
Philomena Donohoe and Gretta O'Neill.
The affairs of angling
tourism are now in the very capable hands of John O'Malley, chairman,
Paddy O'Rourke,
secretary and Pat Masterson, treasurer. We are confident that
this company, assisted by the experience and
inspiration of their predecessors, will surmount any present or
future difficulties that may arise.
This article by Sean
Heslin and Michael Hackett is from "Carrigallen Parish-A
History."
"Carrigallen Parish-A
History."1996, Design inc.
© Ronan Ward Design
2003. All Rights Reserved.