Angler sells sought-after fishing flies to raise €3,000 for Creeslough
James Tobin, who is a regular visit to Inishowen, was inspired to help the people of Creeeslough due to his great love of Donegal
An angler with strong Inishowen connections has raised more than €3,000 to help the community in Creeslough by selling off 400 of his sought-after hand-tied salmon flies.
James Tobin, who is from Cork and divides his time between there and Inishowen where his wife is from, handed a cheque for £2,920 (€3,200) to Creeslough parish priest John Joe Duffy to help those affected by the explosion in the village last October which killed ten people.
James says he wanted to help those affected by the disaster as soon as he heard about it, due to his links with Donegal. His love of fishing has brought him to rivers and lakes all over Donegal and he has friends in the Creeslough area due to his hobby.
The funds were raised by a draw for two sets of salmon flies with the help of Co Derry international angler Willy Darragh who used his contacts in angling across the world to hold the draw.
Mr Tobin, whose wife Geraldine is from Gleneely, said his immediate reaction to the tragedy was to wonder how he could help.
“I thought, ‘there must be something I can do to help, I have hundreds of flies. I don’t know, could I do something with them?’.”
A friend of his told him anglers “would take the hand off him” for his flies and the idea was hatched to hold an online draw for some of his collection that he had built up over the years.
With the help of Willy Darragh, “it became a very serious push to try and make a few pounds.”
“I knew then that we were on to a winner - that this thing was going to maximise the value as long as he was there.”
James has been angling for almost 60 years and making flies for more than two decades.
“I’m tipping away all of the time [making them]. It’s a kind of a sickness,” he joked.
For James, Donegal - and Inishowen in particular - “is Ireland’s best-kept secret”.
Some of his favourite angling spots are in Inishowen. He is a regular visitor and has many friends across the peninsula from angling there over the years.
“I have a closeness and an affinity to it and the people up there. I get it and I get them.”
James and Willy Darragh handed the proceeds from the draw to Fr Duffy earlier this month.
They heard first-hand how the village is trying to come to terms with what happened and James hopes that the money raised will help in some way.
“I was absolutely delighted to be able to help because of the hardship that community has been through. No amount of money could compensate or change it and it is just nice to think that we can do something in such a small way for me but to potentially have a positive impact on the community in any way.”