Following a long illness, ‘Mr Irish Angling’ Hugh Gough died in Cavan Hospital on Monday, 9 November.
Hugh was largely responsible for encouraging thousands of UK anglers to travel to Ireland and always went out of his way to offer invaluable advice.
Mike Fitzpatrick, a Fisheries Inspector with the Northern Regional Fisheries Board, and a long time friend, said:
“It all started way back in the 1950’s while running his own bar – Gough’s Pub – on Cavan’s Main Street”.
“The bar became an angler’s retreat and information centre as Hugh directed visitors to local lakes and in turn they came back with stories about the fabulous fishing.
“Eventually he got a job with the Inland Fisheries Trust and a contract with the Central Fisheries Board to be the Coarse Angling Officer. His brief was to promote and market coarse angling in Ireland and he spent many weeks travelling around England and Wales telling everyone about the exciting sport to be had”.
Hugh was also the author of the still sought-after book, “Coarse Fishing in Ireland” published in 1989 and was actively fishing when he retired until his eyesight deteriorated.
Danny Goldrick, a long time friend of Hugh’s and a retired Inspector with the Western Regional Fisheries Board, said, “He was a brilliant ambassador for Ireland and its coarse fishing”. He was regarded as a genius in the 1960s and 70s when little was known about development of coarse fishing for tourists. But Hugh could make a couple of phone calls and a swarm of men from the Inland Fisheries Trust would be on the bank, doing whatever he wanted within a few hours”.
Graham Marsden, a regular visitor to Ireland for many years, said:
“He would always come out to us for ‘a small one’ and to let us know what had been caught and how the various areas were fishing. No mean angler himself and in touch with all the notable fisheries in Ireland he was always worth listening to. He was a very friendly man who always went out of his way to help whenever he could. He was a sad loss to Irish angling when he retired.”
As testament to his popularity there were masses of mourners who attended his funeral yesterday morning at Cavan Cathedral.
