‘Scarce’ accommodation in Ballinrobe becoming an issue for fishermen

A SHORTAGE of accommodation in the Ballinrobe area is becoming an issue for those participating in the World Cup Trout Fly Angling Championship.

Over 400 anglers from across Ireland and the UK flocked to the shores of Lough Mask for the prestigious fishing competition last week.

However, a number of people associated with the competition have told The Mayo News that a shortage of accommodation in the Ballinrobe area is becoming a difficulty.

At present, Ballinrobe does not have any hotel accommodation and is only served by AirBnbs and B&Bs.

This has resulted in some fishermen staying in Headford and Cong to secure accommodation for the five-day competition.

Lough Mask is one of the most renowned trout fishing lakes in the country and attracts anglers from all over the world.

“The accommodation is scarce. I would say a lot of the owners of accommodation have grown old and there are no young people just taking up B&Bs and that sort of thing,” World Cup Trout Fly Angling Championship President Joe Cusack told The Mayo News.

Pictured at the 65th World Cup Trout Fly Angling Championship were (left to right): Declan Gibbons (committee), Billy Burke (PRO), Dominic Curran, Michael Vahy (comittee) and Joe Cusack (President) Pic: Trish Forde 

Luke Carney, who ran Carney’s Bar & Restaurant in Ballinrobe for over two decades, told The Mayo News that the lack of accommodation is ‘a problem’ for many anglers.

In an interview with this newspaper, Mr Carney described the annual World Cup as ‘the making of the summer’ which regularly attracted a large spend from visiting anglers.

The town’s two hotels, The Valkenburg Hotel and Gannon’s Hotel, have both closed their doors in recent years.

“They now tend to go fishing where there is accommodation and stay in Cong, Clonbur. As a result, a lot of them are fishing on the Corrib,” said Mr Carney, whose premises has long been a popular retreat for anglers.

“I remember being in Cong recently and I met two men who’d have been great customers of ours. And I was chatting to them and I said ‘How are you up this end?’ And they said they couldn’t get anywhere in Ballinrobe so they were staying in Cong. So as a result, they were fishing on the Corrib and they were eating in Cong which is understandable because the places were there.

“They wouldn’t be looking for a 5-star hotel or anything. That is a problem around the town at the minute, I think.”

Some of those participating in the World Cup have also highlighted the lack of accommodation in the Ballinrobe area.

Keith Fleming, from Bessbrook in Co Armagh, told The Mayo News that he was staying in Cong as there was no accommodation available in the Ballinrobe area.

“You hear a lot of people saying it’s very hard to get accommodation,” Mr Fleming said.

Pat Winning from Cork City added: “There isn’t a huge amount of beds in Ballinrobe. You have to go out a small little bit.”

Philip Kavanagh from Ashbourne, Co Meath, who regularly stays in Headford for the competition, said: “It’s not an issue for me but I hear other people talk about it and it probably makes things a bit more difficult.”

It is planned that Ballinrobe will add extra accommodation with the completion of works on its new town hall, which will be located at the former Valkenburg Hotel.

Planning permission was granted for a 46-bedroom hotel in the town in 2017, but the development has yet to materialise.

There will be more coverage of the 2023 World Cup Trout Fly Angling Championship in next week’s Mayo News.