I was ten years old,I remember that as my gramps had recently passed,leaving a Ford anglia car and a trust that took over 40 years to sort out..!

That small car was used on a trip to Ireland,with my family in tow,my father planned to fish the Shannon and had booked a very old cottage next to the river..

However ,the cottage didn't meet the approval of my mother,so we looked for somewhere else to stay..After talking to some local in a pub,we got told of a place that did BnB and it just happened to be right next to a big lake,with an island complete with tumbled down folly..

I spent hours in the Crystal clear margins of that week,getting bitten to he'll by water fleas..

The lake,not only had big pike,and tench,but carp..!

I'd love to go back and fish or look even at that lake,it was in Southern Ireland ,County Clare maybe..who knows?

One thing I learnt,was carp have been in Ireland much longer than I knew...

In reply to Post #1
They've been in Cork City for years, a public lake I think. Courtesy of the piking fraternity.

In reply to Post #2
I've heard about some place called the 'lough',might be the same place in Cork..
But..I'm reading Fallons ,carp have been in Ireland for years and years,it's very interesting..

Of course you have the commercial carp waters over now from what I have learnt,but it fascinating all the same..

(Like up at Pant y lyn)..Wales..carp get every where,even in South West spate streams or river's..

In reply to Post #2
Years ago on a family holiday to Ireland I remember driving past what I think was the Lough in Cork it was in a public park. It was a hot sunny day and even from the car I could see a good number of carp cruising along the surface.
I wish now I'd stopped to have a look but family pressures at the time meant I had to drive on by.

I think buddi is still lurking. He'll be your man on carp in Ireland.

When I lived in southern Ireland from 90 to 95 I traveled all over the South and North, only carp I remember were small commons that I assumed were descendants from early monk stockings.

In reply to Post #6
That could well be true mate..


I read back along ,that when Roman armies travelled and dominated other societies and cultures,they moved along with huge armies their own food stocks..including carp..

Some say,that's what the decendants of Welsh wildies come from,or as said monks, however the mountain carp are similar to the real remaining wildies in the Danube river systems..

I don't know,and I don't know if Romans got to Ireland,just my thinking 😕

In reply to Post #7
Don't think the Romans did ever get to Ireland but who knows, maybe an Irish man or Welsh man took roman carp to Ireland. Friends of mine that have been avid match anglers all their lives have been to Ireland to fish and have huge bags of tench and Bream but none ever caught carp to my knowledge and the perch and pike fishing was superb. Sadly I'm reliably told its not a patch on what it once was.

Sadly there was a fish kill on the lough in cork a few years back and 95% of the fish died.
There's plenty of carp lakes across the country these days and a lot are non publicity.
The record still hovers just over the 30lb mark although some bigger fish have been caught.
The guys up in northern Ireland really have a thriving carp screen growing well the past few years with some amazing lakes....
The big reservoir in cork has a low stock of carp some of which have never seen a hook. Proper pioneering angling. Seen pics of some nice mid 20 commons.

In reply to Post #9
That's a shame about the fish kill...



Apparently the Northern Ireland carp record is 35lb,its got a name ,I see,called the edge..

Lovely place is Ireland ,I'd love to go there again ,..hopefully there is still.quiet corners over there..,no humans much..

In reply to Post #9
Hi Ben, I have some great memories of my time in Ireland but mostly sea fishing, used to use a shop called Tilly's Tackle in rings end and Dave the owner came out on my boat a few times. Also beach fished with Andrew Gormley who was the Irish distance casting champion which I only found out when we fished inch strand and had to cast further and further as the fish moved out.

My first Fishing memory was of fishing Lough Corrib in County Galway as a kid. When me dad used to take us back to see his Sister. Out fishing from a boat with Flys for the trout and spinners of the pike and perch. Well it turns out we weren't actually fishing. Me and me cousins were given Bullrushs each and told to dangle them over the side if we wanted to catch a fish. Probably mithered me Dad and uncle so much ot was the only way to shut us up..Happy days indeed.

I spent my childhood fishing Lough sheelin for the incredible wild brown trout as my uncle ran a fishing guest house out there. I'd spend every school holiday out there and the rest of the year dreaming about it. Truly halcyon days and in a way it's ruined me as nothing can touch those magical evenings fishing for green Peter feeding wild brown trout. Taking the boat out by myself and shaking with fear as giant trout sipped the big sedges from the oily surface then sitting in the village pub drinking pints at the bar afterwards until 2am as a 14-15 year old. It almost makes me sad that those days are gone but I'm so lucky to have had them. Ireland is a magical place although i do not believe carp belong there.

In reply to Post #13
Wow,that is / was fantastic ,great memories for sure..not much you can add to that ..

In reply to Post #7
That's the weird thing, those 'wildies' in the Welsh mountains bare little resemblance to what the locals to the Danube consider the true original carp.