Two Longford natives beat off stiff competition in April of this year to emerge World Cup winners at the Lough Ree International Pike Festival 2014.

Two Longford natives beat off stiff competition in April of this year to emerge World Cup winners at the Lough Ree International Pike Festival 2014.

Joe McDermott and his ten-year-old nephew Jason were delighted to place in the competitions on all three days, going on to win the top prize.

Started in 2009, the festival has gone from strength to strength, drawing in crowds of competitors and fishing enthusiasts from all across the country and further afield.

Speaking about the competition, Joe explains that in order to qualify for the World Cup, competitors had to be among the prizewinners each day, adding that a maximum of 80 boats were allowed to take part, with two to each boat. Joe was accompanied by his nephew, Jason, who has been fishing with his uncle for a few years now.

Well known in the world of fishing, Joe states, “I’ve been fishing since I was a child, my father and my brothers fished.”

Adding that he plans to take part in a few more competitions this year, Joe concludes, “That’s what we live for, to be out in the open in the fresh air. I’d rather be out there than in the towns.”