Angling competitions spawn festivals of fishing and food

The resilience and vibrance spoken about at the launch of the Government's rural strategy in Ballymahon is alive and well in nearby Lanesborough-Ballyleague, on the Roscommon-Longford border.

Chairman of the Lough Ree Angling Hub Hugh Keane was aware of the potential in his surroundings. Bord na Móna and the ESB have traditionally been the largest employers in the area but both have scaled back operations in recent years, Mr Keane says. "We said something has to be done to create some employment into the future."

With this in mind, locals looked at areas where employment could be created and sustained. Mr Keane knew Lough Ree was a great fishing attraction which he says has been “totally under-utilised”.

Last year Lough Ree Angling Hub set about bringing a world fishing competition to the town. The plan worked and locals decided to hold the first Taste of the Lakelands festival in conjunction with the fishing competition, so local producers could showcase their produce. The event, which ran from October 5th-10th, was a huge success, drawing a crowd of 6,000 on one of the days.

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While the world fishing competition won’t be returning this year, Mr Keane is already planning to host major fishing competitions in June and October. The competition in June has €10,000 in prize money. The organisers designed leaflets in French and sent two representatives to a French fishing exhibition to hand out the flyers.

Separately, they have identified new areas in the town where they hope development can take place to enhance the fishing offering, while plans are under way for a website promoting local fishing and food. They have also begin an economic survey and Roscommon and Longford councils have agreed to help complete the work.

Meanwhile, the industrious locals have turned their sights to the Centre Parcs Forest Village near Ballymahon to see if there is any way of linking up the offerings, Mr Keane says. “We have all these plans but it will take us a few years to bring it to fruition.”

Joe O'Brien of the Lanesboro Traders Association says the community has a number of projects planned. "With the Taste of the Lakelands being the great success it has been, and the fishing competition, it puts Lanesboro on the greater map rather than just locally," he said.

Although talks are ongoing, Mr O’Brien says there is a prospect of a cycleway passing through Lanesboro which would link Dublin to Westport and Achill in Mayo. The prospect of Lough Ree becoming a national park with Lanesboro hosting an interpretive centre is also being examined, he says. In the short term, “we are also running a Lough Ree Monster Festival on the August weekend . . . We are hoping to be able to fund an amphitheatre on the banks of the Shannon”. The planned amphitheatre would be similar to one in Ballykeeffe, Co Kilkenny, he adds.