A consortium of international businessmen has paid almost €9 million for fishing and shooting rights along a stretch of Donegal's top Atlantic salmon river. It was confirmed yesterday that the Cloghan Lodge Fishery in Glenfin was sold last month for about £6.5 million (€8.75 million).
The new owners plan to turn the old lodge and estate into an "upmarket" international fishing and hunting attraction, which would give the area a massive tourism boost.
The fishery is home to the famous salmon leap on the upper River Finn, as well as 25,000 acres of shooting ground and 100 square miles of waterways.
It has been owned and run by the Wilde family for the past 25 years.
The Cloghan estate was bought 25 years ago by Englishman David Wilde, who is married to a Castlefin woman. The estate will now be run by Mr Wilde's son John who will continue to live in Cloghan Lodge with his family.
John Wilde said his family were "fairly happy" with the multimillion-euro sale. "The new owners have plans to turn the estate into an upmarket venue for sports people interested in fishing and shooting. We could never harness that potential because we simply did not have the money at our disposal."
He said there would probably be a major extension to the 90-year-old, 12-bedroom lodge which is nestled in woods next to the salmon leap. "This is not their first venture into this area of business and they are very interested in creating local employment," he added.
Meanwhile, there was speculation yesterday that members of the pop band Simply Red, Chris DeMargary and Mick Hucknall, have agreed to sell their fishing rights to an adjoining stretch of the Finn near Ballybofey to a Northern Ireland-based businessman.