FÁILTE was the catchphrase in Burke’s Bar and Restaurant in Clonbur, Co Galway, for the recent fly fishing competition on Lough Mask. As this was my first visit to the village, I was immediately impressed. A big fáilte from proprietor Tomás Burke and I felt at home straight away.
An Fhairché (or Clonbur) is a Connemara Gaeltacht village steeped in legend and continues to promote “As Gaeilge” at every opportunity. With few exceptions little has changed over the years with its narrow main street, hall doors fronting pavements and where a friendly atmosphere abounds.
The Burke’s arrived in An Fhairché in 1922. John J Burke, from Tipperary, passed through the village by chance, fell for the premises and, as they say, the rest is history. The premises subsequently passed to his son, Ciaran (still hail and hearty) and today his own sons Tomás and Eoin hold the reins.
From an angling perspective, An Fhairché is best known for its close proximity to two of the finest wild trout loughs in Europe – Corrib and Mask. Anglers arrive in their droves each year from every corner of the world – in Mayfly time, accommodation is at premium level!
The two-day competition was the first of its kind and spawned out of the highly successful Vintners competition held later in the year. The latter is regarded as second in popularity to the world cup five-day event.
Over 70 competitors were “in the hat” for the draw and I was fortunate to team with Tom Ormond from Ratoath, Co Meath. Tom is a regular to Clonbur and familiar with the fishing area.
Such was the nature of the competition that anglers were allowed to embark from all vantage points on Mask and report back to Burkes with their catch.
Although extremely cold (I had six layers of clothing on), expectations were high as we set out from Burke’s Bay in windy conditions and our first snow shower.
My cast of Sooty Olive, Connemara Black and Black Pennell on the point, compared favourably to Tom’s set-up. We headed for the Saints and Inisgleastai Islands with the Canal within our sights.
It’s not every day of the week one meets five seasons rolled into one. We did. While I could manage the snow, sleet, rain and sunshine, the biting north easterly caught me out.
Fishing the shallows in and around the small islands resembled a like a bad movie – dull, desolate and lifeless. But then it was near arctic conditions!
However, all was forgotten after the first “follow”, a trend that continued for most of the day. At one stage we met a “boil” of fish and managed to boat one keeper and two juniors. Later, Tom caught a nice trout on a Fiery Brown.
Back in the warmth of Burkes I was pleasantly surprised to see 35 fish presented for weigh-in given the conditions. John Scanlon and Noel Moran both reached the quota of three fish and eight anglers had two each.
The carvery meal was incredible. Although forewarned about the quality food it was a first for me to see a full-size pig on the spit and the chef dishing out lavish proportions with roast potatoes and a selection of vegetables. Needless to say, there were no complaints.
Our second day’s fishing followed the same pattern except the word on the ground favoured the Green Peter, Pearly Dabbler and Alexandra on the point. Although we landed several small fish, it was only on my last cast that a good-sized trout grabbed my Green Peter.
The sit-down dinner on finals night was again top notch. I opted for seafood chowder, sirloin of beef and chocolate Bailey’s cheesecake. Master of ceremonies Eoin Burke praised the big turnout of anglers with a “bualadh bos” and said the competition will be held again next year.
My sincere thanks to the Burke family for the An Fhairché fáilte and I look forward to returning in the near future. Also thanks to Eddie of Fairhill House Hotel for my three-night stay – very enjoyable and a guarantee of a good night’s sleep.
Results: 1, N Greene (Enniskillen), 3 fish, 3.56kg; 2, J O’Keeffe (Cork), 4f, 3.08kg; 3, R Willis (Cork), 5f, 2.91kg; 4, P Tracey, 4f, 2.045kg; 5, J Scanlon, 5f, 2.04kg. Heaviest fish: N Greene, 1.95kg. Over the two days, 70 anglers caught 84 trout.
angling@irishtimes.com