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Cooper's Comments 5
I recently attended two meetings which I considered to be of great importance
to the future of our environment in this wonderful country. The first
taking place in Mullingar on the 17th of February 2001.
It was organized by The Irish Pike Society and was attended by some forty
to forty five people. The speakers on the "top table" were Alan
Broderick and Pat Byrne along with other individuals from the I.P.S. Other
organizations and individuals were invited to this "pike forum",
but for reasons best known to themselves they declined to attend. After
the agenda was read out and a covering summary given by Alan Broderick,
input was asked for from the people attending.
This, in my opinion, was done in a well organized manner and it was generally
agreed that action must be taken now on several fronts, not just to protect
the future of pike angling, but all aspects and disciplines of the sport.
Alan Forrest and myself left feeling extremely elated that the people
attending the meeting felt passionate enough to do whatever may be necessary
to try and rectify an ever worsening situation on the issues of pike,
pollution and coarse fishing in general.
The second meeting, held in Lanesboro, took place on the 20th of February
2001 at the Lough Ree Arms. It was organized by the Irish Federation of
Pike Anglers with John Chambers taking the chair. About thirty five to
forty people attended, made up mainly of Irish Pike Society members and
eight members of the I.W.F.P.S. I was asked at the start of the meeting
to give a brief summary of the grave pollution situation affecting most
of the River Shannon between Drumsna and Tarmonbarry. This I did and to
highlight the problems large colour photographs were passed among the
gathering. Without exception everyone was in agreement that the problems
with the river had reached a crucial point, where if action was not taken
very quickly the problems would become almost irreversible.
The meeting from that point on degenerated into a meaningless game of
"ping-pong". It soon became apparent that the Federation were
masters at sitting on the proverbial fence and that any positive motions
put forward by the people in attendance would either be mooted or put
on the back burner.
It is widely bandied about that the Federation has in excess of seven
thousand members. I ask, where were they on Tuesday and will any of them
at all be prepared to stand up and be counted. For my sins I, along with
other members of my society, walked out before the end of the meeting
in abject disgust. Most of us formed the opinion that the Irish Federation
of Pike Angling Clubs should be renamed "The Sitting on the Fence,
Non-doers Organization".
Say what you like about Alan Broderick, he has the passion and the guts
to put his reputation on the line and to stand up and be counted.
Geoff Cooper
P.R.O.
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