Young anglers Enda and John reeled in for worlds
TWO COUNTY WEXFORD anglers have made history by being chosen to compete for the national team at the FIPS-ed World Youth Angling Championships which are taking place in Cork this August.
11-year-old John Browne, from New Ross, will repesent Ireland in the U15s and Enda Minogue, 16 and from Bree, will represent Ireland in the U20s.
The qualifying juniors who will represent Ireland on home soil at the championships to be staged on the prolific Inniscarra Reservoir.
The youths were selected from a process of four qualifiers staged over two weekends on the world championship venue with those scoring the best of the four matches selected for the squad.
Adrian Browne of Oaklands Coarse Angling Club in New Ross, where John and Enda are members, said the club are very proud of the boys.
This will be the first time an angler in these age categories from County Wexford will go on to represent Ireland in world competition and John and Enda are the only anglers from the south east competing at the event, which takes place in mid-August. Oaklands Coarse Angling club has 25 members and is the only coarse angling club in the county.
Mr Browne said the youths found out they were chosen in September but the news was kept under wraps until January. ‘ They will be competing in one of the most natural venues in the world in Cork. The ESB flooded the Lee valley in the early 1970s creating this lake. The fishing will be a little different from what they are used to at Oaklands, They’ll be fishing for perch and bream.’
John and Enda will have a lot of practice before the world championships. ‘ The boys will be training and have six weekends and one weeks practise beforehand. For such a small club to have two going forward is great. We’re only affiliated for six years.’
Mr Browne said there is no tradition of coarse fishing in the county, adding, ‘ but the young lads coming in have taken to it like ducks to water.’