Garrison, County Fermanagh
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Garrison is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, 5 miles south of Belleek, at the eastern end of Lough Melvin. The Roogagh River runs through the village. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 357 people. It is within the Fermanagh District Council area.
Visitors to Garrison can enjoy a wide range of activites including golfing, fishing, hill-walking, water sports, horse-riding, cycling, camping and caving. The Lough Melvin Holiday Centre [link] caters for large groups and there is a plethera of local guesthouses and chalets to let. Two local pubs - The Melvin Bar and The Riverside Bar - provide music and craic and the local restuarant - The Bilberry - is well established and well renowned in the North-West region.
-->According to the UK Met Office [link], the highest temperature ever recorded in Northern Ireland is 30.8 °C at Knockaraven, Garrison in County Fermanagh on 30 June 1976.
Lough Melvin in Ireland is home to the Gillaroo or 'Salmo stomachius' - a species of trout which eats primarily snails. Gillaroo is derived from the Gailge or Irish for Red Fellow (Giolla Rua). This is due to the fishes distinctive colouring. It has a bright buttery golden colour in its flanks with bight crimson and vermillion spots. The gillaroo is characterised by deep red spots and a "gizzard" which is used to aid the digestion of hard food items such as water snails. Experiments carried out by Queens University, Belfast established that the L. Melvin cannot be found anywhere else in the world. They feed almost exclusively on bottom living animals ( snails, sedge fly larva and freshwater shrimp) with the exception of late summer. It is at this time that they come to to surface to feed and may be caught on the dry fly. Other lakes reputed to contain the gillaroo are L. Neagh, L. Conn, L. Mask and L. Corrib. However the unique gene found in the L. Melvin trout has not been found in some 200 trout populations in Ireland and Britain.
Legend has it that St Brigid was offered chicken to eat on a Friday as she walked through Garrison (a big no-no to Catholics) and she was so enraged she threw the entire bird into the river where it changed into a fish, hence the "gizzard".
The sonaghon trout (Salmo nigripinnis) is another species unique to Lough Melvin. It can have a light brown or silvery hue with large, distinctive black spots. There are sometimes small, inconspicuous red spots located along its posterior region. Its fins are dark brown or black with elongated pectorals. Sonaghen are found in areas of open, deep water, where they feed on mid-water planktonic organisms.
History
Garrison is named from a barracks erected by William III who halted here after the Battle of Aughrim.
Garrison was a thriving town before The Troubles when it was cut off from the Republic of Ireland after the roads were blown up by the British Security Forces in an attempt to stop the transportation of explosives into Northern Ireland. When cross-border business halted, the town suffered from lack of trade and it is only since the roads reopened in 1996 that Garrison has found its feet again.
The Melvin Hotel, previously owned by the McGovern family, was blown up by the IRA as retaliation for allowing members of the security forces to stay on the premises. In reality, it was a dry run for the bomb makers and planters to detonate a bomb in an area that was not easily accessible to the local police who were in barraks in Belleek, five miles away.
Charlie Chaplin fished Lough Melvin extensively, and stayed in Garrison while he was in the locality.
Ronan Feely, an Irish filmmaker was raised in Garrison and his family still live there.
References
The border roads were opened in Garrison in 1994. (Ronan Feely's brother)
See also
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