January 25, 2005
End of the Line
The maritime relationship between Ireland and Wales goes back as far as the beginning of the recorded history of the two places, with St. Patrick probably making the most lasting impression of any Welshman on these shores. In more recent times, many Irish passed through Holyhead on their way to England to start new lives as immigrant workers.
Plenty of Welsh fishermen visit Ireland every year too, but some of them may stay away in protest against what is seen there as poor husbandry by Ireland of a shared resource - the salmon. Fish that breed in Wales and go out to sea as adults must return by the west coast of Ireland where many of them end up in drift nets. icWales carries an editorial on what is regarded in Wales as Irish greed and short-term exploitation. Said one Welsh angler
He saw them as being guilty of milking cows which they neither own, nor have they fed or protected. The cows are merely on the way home and passing them on the road. What do the Irish do? Take them as their own. There is surely something immoral about that.
Posted by Monasette at January 25, 2005 11:21 PM