Improved lakeside signage at Sligo’s angling locations would further enhance tourism potential

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

The importance of angling tourism to the local economy was highlighted at the April meeting of Sligo County Council with Cllr Dara Mulvey calling for the signage at Sligo’s fishing lakes to be improved.

In his motion Cllr Mulvey called on Sligo County Council to “See how we can improve the signage for the fishing lakes in our county as to increase the tourism potential of these fishing locations.”

Speaking to his motion Cllr Mulvey praised the work carried out by Tourism Officer Aidan McCormack but noted there are popular areas such as on the Owenmore River that are not signposted.

Addressing the Council Chamber Cllr Mulvey pointed out that, “Many anglers will go to tackle shops for supplies and information but in smaller areas without tackle shops, no information is available.”

Cllr Mulvey added, “Fishing tourism is a great boost for local areas. We have fabulous lakes, if we can improve the signage it will encourage more people into them.”

The motion was supported by Cllr Marie Casserly who said, “There is huge tourism potential. Anglers are bringing thousands of visitors, spending millions every year. There is a huge campaign towards the importance of angling in Ireland and the north west. The potential is huge. I have met with Aidan (Tourism Officer) about this and he is very keen to support the anglers and the tourism providers.”

Cllr Edel McSharry also gave her backing to the motion saying, “There is huge potential to attract tourists. Any indigenous industry, we need to promote. We have great fishing locations and a great history of fishing. This is a simple measure that will help in terms of marketing.”

Cllr Ann Higgins also offered her support adding, “We’re a smart economy now, we should be looking at QR codes. I think we should do something like that with street names as well. It would make it more engaging for tourists and those of us who live here.”

Director of Services Jim Molloy addressed the meeting in relation to the query raised by Cllr Higgins in relation to QR codes saying, “Signage has to be approved by Fáilte Ireland. QR codes is not something we favour because it often gets manipulated and people are brought to sites they shouldn’t be.”

Mr Molloy added, “There is always the risk of invasive species coming in with fishing. There are a lot of things we need to be careful of, things we have to bear in mind but if applications come in we will look at them.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.