A consortium of locals has come together in an attempt to buy a prime Kerry salmon river for sale with London and Irish auctioneers.
The Owenmore river, which rises on the slopes of Mount Brandon and flows into Brandon Bay in the Cloghane/Castelgregory area of the Dingle Gaeltacht, is for sale by public tender on October 14th.
West Kerry Údaras na Gaeltachta member and councillor Séamus Cosaí Fitzgerald (FG) said the consortium of guesthouse/hotel owners and locals should receive support from Údaras. He has called on the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to obtain financial aid for the project.
The river was confiscated from the local people by the British in the 19th century and has been privately owned since.
The present owners have allowed locals and tourist anglers to fish it without restrictions, Mr Fitzgerald said.
Locals feared potential buyers may privatise the river and prohibit locals and tourists to fish, he said. The resource should be developed for the local communities, Mr Fitzgerald added.
The river is for sale by joint auctioneers Knight Frank, based in London, and HOK Country, a division of Hamilton, Osborne King of Dublin. It is presented as "one of the most unspoilt fisheries in western Europe in a truly spectacular location on the Dingle peninsula, comprising an entire river from source to sea".
The fishery includes nine lakes as well as five miles of fishing and more than 300 acres of countryside.