Kilkenny man has the perfect cure for the 'Fisherman's Blues'

Local fisherman Dan O’Neill has combined his love for fishing with a noble community initiative, offering people the opportunity to take time away from the worries of life and visit some of the county’s most cherished waterways to chat and pick up a new skill along the way.

Dan, who has fished from an early age, manages the fishery at the Mount Juliet Estate and has hailed the past-time’s benefits in offering stress relief in a society where stress and anxiety have become a regular occurrence in every day life.

"I have been unfortunate enough to suffer from mental health at different points in my life. I was never comfortable talking about it, in my head I felt like I was moaning or whining and that there were other people worse off, which there are," he said,  adding, he put on a 'mask' full of smiles, jokes and happiness while in the company of others.

However, one day a solution struck Dan. Following a conversation with an internet provider regarding poor coverage, the advice on the other end of the phone proved to be more valuable than he ever could have thought.

"Plug out your router for 20 minutes and then plug it back in and allow it to reboot," the call taker said.

That advice proved to be inspirational as it gave Dan a solution to the pressures of the modern-world. 

"I immediately thought in my mind if only I could plug out reboot and refresh. It was then I began turning off my phone while I went fishing allowing my ‘router’ or mind to refresh," he says.

Dan’s efforts to get locals talking have proven a success as the relaxed atmosphere has enticed visitors from near and far, ranging from local people in parts of Kilkenny to celebrities such as actor Pierce Brosnan and golfer Ryan Fox.