he Irish Federation of Sea Anglers (IFSA) held the Inter-Provincial Shore Angling Championships last weekend in Northern Ireland. Fishing beaches on the north coast, teams from all four provinces battled it out for the provincial crown over 3 sessions.
Freezing temperatures and lack of surf at times contributed to tough fishing conditions, not to mention seals robbing fish from anglers’ hooks! However, these are top match anglers, battle hardened in their own club and provincial competitions, and they managed to land plenty of fish, including flounder, bass, turbot, whiting, dabs, plaice, coalfish and dogfish.
In the end it was the Connacht team of Brian Reidy, Sean Ivory, Shane Gilvarry, Colin Harty and Ed Kilroy who came out on top in the men’s competition, with 35.5 points, ahead of Leinster in second on 33.5, and Munster on 32.5 in third.
The ladies championship was won by the Ulster team of Sharon Blair, Lisa Gormley, Janet Snoddy, Linda Snoddy and Pamela Stewart, finishing head of Munster.
Munster won the under-21 competition, and Leinster won the nder-16s, so teams from all provinces went home happy in the end.
