Rory's.  It’s a famous name with a famous owner, Rory Harkin, of Rory’s Tackle Shop in Temple Bar in Dublin.   But did you know it opened its doors in 1959 when there were just warehouses around the area and trout and salmon could be caught by the bucketful within Dublin’s environs?   Rory Harkin may have passed on the running of the shop to his daughter Mary but he joins us this week to talk about his love of fly fishing, meeting and fishing with so many household names – including Charles...

Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, wanted to live life and do things his own way.  In his 80s now and having given Patagonia away to help save the planet, Yvon is more likely to be found near a river bank fly fishing and he joins us to talk about his love of the sport and what anglers need to do help the plight of the salmon and of the planet. But he's also critical of anglers and their lack of action in helping to save the fish.  'Fishermen are not true advocates of fish,' he says....

This week we’re turning our attention to first editions of Irish angling books.   The Ireland on the Fly Book Club is an important part of what we do here on the podcast and Muiris Huston, the medical contributor to the Irish times, is also a fly angler and fly fishing book collector and he joins us on the show to discuss the books everyone should have on their shelves.   If you are interested in collecting, here are some websites that Muiris...

He’s the Swedish salmon maestro who fished 250 days a season in his younger years, but he’s more than an expert salmon angler, he’s an ardent conservationist who says he will never stop fighting for the wild salmon.   Mikael Frödin joins us on the latest episode of The Last Salmon with revealing insights into the perilous state of the salmon which he believes could be gone within two decades if current fish farming practises are not stopped.   He also talks about his memorable days of 30lbs...

It might be hard to believe, but mayfly season is starting soon and it’s expected on Lough Derg from around April 20th onwards.    This week’s guest is Shane Creamer from the Garrykennedy Angling Club and he gives us some great and honest insights into fishing Derg during mayfly and the rest of the season. And here's the link to the 2004 article on the thriving hatchery at Mountshannon that is discussed during the...

We take a brief departure from all things Atlantic salmon to focus on their second home - the ocean.   Charles Clover is one of the pre-eminent environmental journalists of our time, author of the eye-opening and best-selling, ‘The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat’ and most recently, ‘Rewilding the Sea: How to Save our Oceans’.   He is also co-founder of The Blue Marine Foundation, one of the leading global, marine conservation NGOs and he joins us to...

This week we speak to Nicholas Grubb who grew up in south Tipperary beside the Suir and the Tar and he tells us about the incredible catches of fish that were to be had growing up.   It’s a throwback to another age and his great grandfather Samuel also had a reported 62lber which would have been an Irish record but it was never measured or verified at the time.   Nicholas also previously wrote an article for Salmon Watch Ireland discussing some of the reasons why he thinks salmon numbers have...

Scotland.  It’s the traditional heart and home of fly fishing for salmon.  The Spey, Dee, Tay and Tweed are rivers synonymous the world over when it comes to salmon fishing.   But, long gone are the days when salmon catches were guaranteed and getting onto certain beats were next to impossible.    In the midst of the Atlantic salmon crisis, Daire and Jim speak to Robert Mitchell and Colin Bull, two Scotsmen immersed in salmon throughout their lives.   Robert Mitchell, has been a salmon...

This week we’re joined by Julie Gerry, former winner of the World Cup on Mask – and the only woman to have won it to date, she’s captain of the Irish Ladies Fly Fishing team, and now also Youth Officer with the Irish Trout Fly Fishers Association.   Julie tells us how, despite the success of Irish fly fishing teams, it is still a struggle to get more youths and women into the sport, and how maybe we should be looking to copy the successful programme in Northern Ireland based on the Foyle...

Alexandra Morton is a warrior and a shining light who has fought and won her battle against fish farms.  She has committed her life to saving the wild salmon in her local area of Broughton Archipelago on Canada’s pristine British Columbia coastline.     She joins Jim and Daire on the latest episode of The Last Salmon to talk about her life of activism, why everyone needs to join in the fight to save the salmon and how success like hers can be achieved.   #thelastsalmon...

This week’s guest on Ireland on the Fly is a fly tyer and fly angler well known to many from fairs around Ireland and abroad and it was only when he moved to Ireland over twenty years ago that he discovered fly fishing and quickly embraced the sport, especially fly tying.   Having been originally from the Caribbean it’s no surprise that saltwater fly fishing remains his first love, but John also has more than a few interesting tales to tell, including the time he was a bodyguard to Mike Tyson...

Paul Whitehouse, the comedic legend, and John Bailey, the wizard behind the scenes of Mortimer & Whitehouse Gone Fishing, join us on The Last Salmon podcast. With their outspoken views about scientists and what actually should be done to help their beloved fish, Paul and John bring a lifetime of fishing experience – as well as their wit and humour - to this week’s episode, including the welcome return of Rowley Birkin (KC) to the conversation.   #thelastsalmon...

This week on Ireland on the Fly we’re turning our attention to the famous River Slaney.     The river that was once the doyen of spring salmon rivers in Ireland has suffered more than most in recent times but there are still anglers and custodians of the Slaney that are fighting to keep it going and recover.    And to hear more about their work as well as those halcyon days, we’re joined by Richard Burgess, former chairman of the Slaney River Trust. Plus, Tom was a recent guest speaker at the...

The Last Salmon is a new podcast series hosted by Ireland on the Fly's, Daire Whelan, and actor and activist angler, Jim Murray offering hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon. On this, the first episode of Season 1, Daire and Jim find out how the massive escape of farmed salmon in Iceland’s waters in the autumn of 2023, led to huge public protests at the damage being done to the wild salmon and their country’s...

This week’s Ireland on the Fly is another book club episode with returning author, Dan O’Donovan, whom we spoke to previously about his book, The Salmon of the River Lee.   Dan has also written a very popular monograph on Sidney Spencer, who was a renowned angler and author on lough-fishing for salmon and sea-trout in the north-west of Ireland and the Western Isles of Scotland, and we speak to Dan about Sidney Spencer’s life and legacy and his love of fly fishing in Ireland.   Rate, review...

Some of you may recall the devastating fish kill that occurred last May on the Ballymacraven River in Ennistymon, Co. Clare. It is estimated that in excess of 2000 fish were killed in this incident.    This culminated in a court case on February the 16th, taken by the I.F.I. where Uisce Éireann admitted liability for this event and were fined over €15,000.    Tom spoke to Jane Gilleran who is an Environmental Fisheries Officer with the I.F.I. and represented them in these proceedings to find...

John Lalor, the well-known Tipperary salmon and trout angler, is on this week's podcast to talk about his fishing life on the River Suir and beyond.   John’s new book, ‘Fish Scéalta: Game Fishing from Alaska to Lapland and the Swedish Arctic’ covers his remarkable fishing life beyond Tipperary covering many of the bucket list destinations we can only dream about – as well as some of his other favourite fishing locations in Ireland.   Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with...

Jimmy Tyrrell, the well-known fly tyer based outside Abbeyleix in Laois, joins us on this week’s Ireland on the Fly.   Jimmy talks about his fly fishing and fly tying journey from tying flies he could fish with on his local rivers to supplying shops and customers as far afield as Australia.     And for those of you who want to know the perfect way to mix your dubbing, it involves a Chinese takeaway carton and an air canister so listen out for Jimmy’s fly tying tips and for more from Jimmy,...

For this week’s episode we’re joined by Dave O’Donovan, the Cork-based international angler who loves nothing better than fishing his local Awbeg and Funcheon rivers.   With most of the rivers in Cork and Kerry open for trout from February 15th, we spoke to Dave about fishing in the early season and why wet fly tactics are a particular favourite. Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.   Plus you can...

With the opening of the Blackwater on February 1st, we caught up with Conor Arnold, the guide and casting instructor who we spoke to previously on the show, to find out how opening day went on the river and what we can expect over the next few weeks.   Conor also has some good advice on how to tempt the early season springers, plus he tells us how he fared on his recent trip to Patagonia where double figure sea trout and hundreds of brownies made up his week’s fishing down there.     Rate,...

Neil O’Shea, the long-standing ghillie on Lough Currane whose family have been guiding on the lake for nearly 150 years joins us on this week's Ireland on the Fly and what Neil doesn’t know about Currane probably isn’t worth knowing…..   We speak to Neil about the opening few weeks on Currane, the good and the bad days for the lough, why you’ve a good chance of a springer in the coming months and how double figure sea trout can still be got – if you time it right….. Rate, review and follow...

For this week’s episode we’re joined by Eamonn Conway, a well known angler from Dundalk, who in 2016 took the leap and decided to set up his own fly fishing company called Táin Fly Fishing.   Its range includes fly rods, reels, lines and leaders and Eamonn talks to us about the challenges of setting up and running a fly fishing company and why he wants Táin to be like the Tayto of fly fishing in Ireland.   Eamonn also talks about fishing the rivers around his native Dundalk and has some tips...

For this week’s episode we speak to an Irish fly angler who is now not only living and fishing in Sweden but also represents his adopted country at World Championship level.   Wicklow’s Graham Reynolds tells us about the incredible fishing that’s to be had in Sweden and how, despite his early struggles in the competition scene over there, he kept at it and in a few years it led to him fishing at the Worlds and captaining Sweden in 2024.   Plus he also tells us about the incredible landscape...

After a long hiatus we have another book club episode this week and this time we’re focusing on O’Gorman and the Practice of Angling from 1845.   Who was O’Gorman you may be asking?  In many ways he was the Izaak Walton of Irish fly fishing (albeit a lot better at writing!) whose book in the 1800s gives a glimpse of the halcyon days of Irish fishing. This week’s guest is Patrick Gageby, barrister and fly fisherman who co-wrote the introduction to a re-issued version in 1993.  We discuss...