Fly fishermen, preparing for one of their busiest seasons later this month, laid down their rods to applaud the publication of a new magazine, Hooked on the Moy, this week. Officially launching it was the Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern. But it was the night's guest speaker, General John de Chastelain, who last fished in Irish waters when he was 11, catching mackerel off the pier in Westport, who is the avid fly fisherman. He will fish "any how, any way," he says, but currently "I'm not necessarily master of my own calendar." The largest fish he ever caught was a 25lb salmon, he says. His wife, Mary Ann de Chastelain, is also here, enjoying the reception in the Shelbourne Hotel.
Father Vincent Kelly, parish priest in Palmerstown, is preparing to go down to Pontoon, Co Mayo "when the mayfly is up" and fish to his heart's delight. His nephew, John Geary, editor of the new magazine and whose family lives on the banks of the Moy, says at this time of the year there are many fishing widows around the country.
A supporter but not a fisherman is Dr Tom Mitchell, provost of TCD, who comes from that part of the world. He chats to Johnny O'Malley, chair of Ballina's Urban District Council, who is wearing a most impressive chain of office. "The people of the west pull all the strings up here," he tells us.