What is the hottest place in the Midlands? It depends what you are looking for, but if you happen to be an angler you head straight for Lanesboro, in Co Longford.
There, under the shadow of the peat-burning power station, millions of gallons of hot water are pumped into the River Shannon where it widens to become Lough Ree. The fish seem to like it too, because the hot water stretch from Lanesboro downstream has become a place where angling dreams come true and the big ones get caught.
This stretch has produced specimen catches of rudd, bream, roach and tench which find their way into the record books every year.
The word has spread far beyond Ireland. Any day of the year you can meet fishermen from all over Europe sitting under their umbrellas catching fish.
In 1994, the local Tourism Co-operative Society in Lanesboro was established to improve the area around the town and quickly identified the lack of facilities for fishing. After extensive research with the local community and visiting tourists, the society obtained funding from the Central Fisheries Board to develop the hot water stretch.
The riverbank, on the Leinster side of the river, has now been transformed into one of the region's best tourist angling attractions. The overgrown bank has been replaced with limestone platforms - a two-tiered construction that makes allowance for the varying levels of the river. There are now 40 quality permanent fishing spaces and it is estimated the number of angling tourists visiting the area will rise from 1,800 to more than 3,000.
The society has plans to continue the development of the bank and to take advantage of the remainder of the hot water run where the fish feed.
For three days in August, 24th, 25th and 26th, anglers from across Europe will be taking part in the ESB/Lanesboro Angling Festival when it is staged for the first time. The event will be opened by Chris Millar, a member of the Irish International Club team.
There will be a draw for fishing places each day at 9 a.m. and the match will run from 10.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. It will be divided into three sections of 16 anglers and participants must fish for all three days to receive prize money.
The overall winner will receive £1,000 and the runner-up £500. Third prize will be £300. There will also be section winners, with prizes ranging from £175 down to £75.