4: BSW1 Eske river

Speaker: Patsy McNultyGPS LOCATION: 54.673090, -8.067167From The Blackstack Way - Part 1 playlist.Eske river After the turn off from the N15 (the above coordinates), you’ll be walking straight for some 500 metres before passing by the Eske river to your left – you’ll see a nice fishing perch for the keen fishermen out there. Take time to savour the flow of the highly regarded Eske river as it comes near the end of its journey. Fancy a spot of fishing on the river next time you're back? Help is very close to hand; at the top of Water Street just after the bridge, you'll find Doherty's Fishing Tackle shop. Here, Charlie Doherty will be able to get you a licence, rent out a rod and tackle and tell you some secrets about the river if you ask nicely. For information in-season (1 May to 30 September) contact: Eske Angling Centre, Lough Eske Demesne. Tel: 0749740781. For information off-season contact: Northern Regional Fisheries Board, Station Road, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. Tel. 0719851435Keep walking on and you’ll see and hear the bypass ahead of you. Follow the Bluestack Way sign and turn left towards the river again. Carry on under the bypass and note that you are to all intents and purposes in the countryside – a wealth of different terrains, colours and fragrances await. Carry on down the narrow road passing the Water works. At the T-junction, you’ll be taking a left up a very narrow road. The road for the next 3 miles or so is a verdant hallway with the trees on either side nearly meeting. Now and again, you’ll get glimpses of the lush countryside and the blue hue of the Bluestack mountains. As you walk along, there aren’t too many points of interest, but we will use the chance to tell you about other noted walkers in the area over the centuries.  Pearl fishing Fishing for pearls in the Eske was once a great attraction in the Summer months when the water was low. A writer in the Dublin Penny Journal of 1841 wrote ‘The county of Donegal is rich in mines and minerals, but the rivers abound with pearl mussel. I have seen large and round and lustrous pearls taken out of the streams around Donegal which would not disgrace the fishery of the Straits of Manar in South India’. Fishing for pearls was a back breaking and tedious process, but there was always the hope of finding just the right sort of pearl – ideally ‘pear shaped and be almost translucent and have a subdued iridescent sheen’ according to writer Joe McGarrigle who had been taught the patient art by Tommy O’Donnell.  In our audio piece, Patsy McNulty tells us about the pearl mussel of the Eske river. We must emphasise that the practice of pearl mussel fishing is strictly prohibited under a variety of EU laws, so best buy a Lottery ticket if hoping for a quick windfall - the pearls are out of bounds!