The 37th Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival took place from the 22nd to the 24th of January 2026. Check-in commenced on the evening of Wednesday 21st at the festival HQ β the Hotel Curracloe in County Wexford β where 122 anglers were registered at the close on Thursday morning.
Session one was planned to be fished on Ballinesker Beach; however, strong sea surges forced a move to Morriscastle Beach. Competition commenced at 12 noon, and fish were recorded almost immediately. Lines-up was at 5pm and 632 fish were recorded, all of which were returned alive to the water. Some anglers had their first shore-caught spurdog and a notable 41cm flounder was captured by visiting angler Gary Hughes. Best round fish were 47cm spur dogfish for Saul Page, Neil Cutler and Ben Arnold.
Zone winners were Richard Yates, Saul Page, Ben Arnold and Mark Pinder, all from the UK. The Pairs was led by Richard Yates and Saul Page. The 4-person team was led by Richard Yates, Saul Page, John White and David Morris. The leading lady was Anne Whitty.
The easterly storm Ingrid made all of the proposed venues for day 2 unfishable. The only accessible beach on the east coast was Old Bawn which is the northern extension to the beach fished on day 1. It was decided to proceed as it was deemed safe with a falling tide despite the strong easterly wind. At the end of a disappointing session, only 10 anglers had recorded fish, and only 14 in total. The best fish were a 32cm flounder for Jimmy Price and a 33cm bass for Brendan Wall.
Zone winners were Gavin Parker and Jimmy Price from the UK and Lar Mooney and Brendan Wall from Ireland. The pairs competition was now led by Irish anglers J. P. Molloy and Sean Ivory. The 4-person team was led by Stephen Glynn, Lar Mooney, Alby Allen and Brendan Wall from Ireland. Anne Whitty continued as the best lady angler.
With Storm Ingrid making the east coast beaches totally unfishable local knowledge was sought and it was decided to move the last session to Rostoonstown and Duncannon, 2 zones on each. Unfortunately, Rostoonstown was deemed unsafe due to massive tidal surges so disappointingly the third dayβs fishing had to be abandoned. Duncannon was fishable but not big enough to facilitate the entire entry. Some anglers did try their luck and some nice flounder and bass were captured.
Species recorded were dab, flounder, whiting, bass, lesser spotted dogfish, spur dogfish, rockling and coalfish.
116 anglers and guests attended the presentation dinner in the Hotel Curracloe, where a first-class meal was professionally served and enjoyed by all.
The introductory speech was given by George McCullough. He commended the anglers for their perseverance in such severe weather conditions. He thanked everyone involved in the organising of the event and made special mention of Stephen Glynn who had pegged the beaches in harsh early morning conditions. He thanked all those who donated prizes for the raffle and especially Tronixpro for their continued support. He thanked Inland Fisheries Ireland for their support and their field staff for their vigilance on the venues.
The presentation of prizes was conducted by Warren Doyle, Pat Shortt and Tommy Squires. The positions and pools not won due to cancellation and lack of fish were awarded by means of an open draw.
The top 3 positions were taken by:
- J. P. Molloy (IRL)
- Des Farrelly (IRL)
- Gavin Parker (UK).
The pairs competition was won by Irish anglers J. P. Molloy and Sean Ivory.
The 4-person team was won by Stephen Glynn, Lar Mooney, Alby Allen and Brendan Wall from Ireland.
Best lady angler was Anne Whitty. The junior award was taken by Luke Kinsella.
