01/06/2026
Today, on Wild Salmon Day, we’re raising the flag for the wild Atlantic salmon — and for the River Blackwater.
In the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, spring, summer and autumn at Ballyvolane were shaped by salmon anglers travelling here to fish the Blackwater. It brought life to the river, supported local businesses, and was part of the rhythm of rural Ireland.
Today, that world has almost disappeared.
Wild salmon, once so abundant and so woven into Irish folklore that they appeared on the old 10p coin, are now in crisis.
Climate change, rising sea temperatures, reduced zooplankton energy, overfishing, predation, poor river management and the impact of fish farming have all played their part.
But the lack of urgency in protecting one of Ireland’s most iconic species is heartbreaking.
To me, wild salmon mean memory, livelihood, folklore and loss. They mean the Blackwater as it once was: alive with anglers, stories and seasonal rituals.
Above all, they mean responsibility — to speak up before this iconic species disappears from Irish rivers, and from Irish identity, forever.
https://wildsalmonday.com/
