Ballybrack SAC

🎣✨ LADIES SHORE LEAGUE ✨🎣

Calling all LADY ANGLERS! 🌊🐟

We’re looking for participants to help get a new Ladies Shore League up and running!

✅ Open to all IFSA lady anglers
✅ League will run over 3 matches
✅ Bait provided
If you’d like to become a member or want more information, please get in touch 👇

📞 Stephen Glynn — 086 861 2184 or Fiona 086 1980477
📧 [email protected]

Sunday 12th April Ballybrack fished the 3rd leg of their master angler on Wicklow North beach.

21 senior anglers and 3 juniors were in attendance with not much desire on arrival given the small tides, fantastic weather and ….Wicklow beach in April.

It goes without saying that the fishing was poor. However on these slower days, anglers are reminded of the hardship that comes with sea angling and some of the more difficult venues. Wicklow can and does fish well, just not ideally in April on small tides ! Lesson learned for the organisers 😅 That said some anglers managed to battle the crabs, test their armoury of rigs and patience, and score some fine fish.

Peadar Taite in Zone A on and end peg made the most of the situation and showed his experience taking an early plaice and two more good scoring fish for the overall win. Well done Peadar great fishing and a great run of form this year. 2nd place in zone A went to Sean Hickey for his fine flounder which also won him the flat fish pools for the day and 3rd place went to Martins Matisovs.

Zone B was even slower with a number of undersize fish frustrating anglers in the final few hours of competition. One man “Ramunas Butkus” prevailed and caught a very rewarding 54cm bass which not only won him the zone, but also won him the round fish pools for the day. In addition, the mighty Ramus also took prize money for 2nd and 3rd place in zone B as he was the only angler in the zone with a scoring sizeable fish. Well done Ramunas great fishing and also a great run of scores this year in the brackers !

In the juniors Jesse Murphy and Sean Keane managed to land a sizeable fish each with Jesse pipping Sean for first place and the win. Well done lads great fishing as usual.

A slow one for the brackers, but still very enjoyable nonetheless. Tight lines 🎣

Ballybrack SAC Take home the Trophy

Saturday 28th March Ballybrack V Ringsend on Kilgorman beach, Wexford.

Yesterday marked the second year of the perpetual Dublin challenge cup. 23 Ballybrack SAC anglers vs 23 of Ringsend Irishtown SAC’s finest. The format of competition was a matchplay style with Ballybrack drawing all of the odd numbered pegs and Ringsend fishing the evens. 20 seniors and 3 juniors from each club competed in the 5 hour competition to try bring home a point for their club. The buzz in the lead up to this years competition was evident on social media and in various whattsapp groups. Ringsend after a great win last year, were excited try hold on to the trophy for another year. Ballybrack anglers were leaving no work undone in preparing for this year, ensuring they had all scenarios covered for marking their name on the Dublin Challenge Cup for 2026.

Fishing overall was never expected to be fantastic, given the time of year. But a lot of work goes into running this style of competition from both clubs, and selecting a suitable date that does not interfere with other club competitions and events for the calendar year can be difficult. As both clubs congregated in the carpark there was a lot of chat about tactics and expectations based on the conditions. A bright sunny day with strong westerly breeze, meant fishing would be very difficult for the most part. There was minimal tide run for a period, and westerly breeze meant the there was clear calm waters. Perfect, if your a swimmer 😅

The competition started very slow, with only a handful of anglers picking out fish inside the first couple of hours. A flurry of Flounder showed up along both zones in the middle of the completion, which brought great relief to a lot of anglers. The majority of anglers clued in straight away, and opted to fish in the gutter. Some of the big casters tested the waters at range with mix of fish baits and worms, but with no tide run it produced nothing. It was a case of, sticking it out in the gutter and getting creative with the baits and rigs to try find a fish or two. As the competition progressed, zone A was looking favourable for Ringsend, while Zone B was going in favour of Ballybrack. Similar to last year, things were very close right up to the final whistle. A few good scoring fish came in for some anglers on the final few casts to change things up a bit and by the end of the competition both clubs thought they had done enough to take the victory.

The main species on the day were flounder, with a small number of others including whiting, weaver, Bass, dogfish, Plaice , Turbot, smoothound and amazingly on the final cast of the day Darius Gricius returned a juvenile blue skate !! Mistaken on the beach for a cuckoo ray by its spots on its wings, later was confirmed to be in fact a small blue skate. An amazing fish to catch anytime, and even nicer to do at a competition like this. Well done Darius.

Back in the carpark as the finally tally of scores was being processed, the craic was brilliant and the camaraderie between both clubs was truly great to experience and is something that is lacking in the sport these days. Final scores came in Ballybrack SAC 11 points Ringsend Irishtown SAC 9 points. There was a number of draws also. Both clubs exchanged banter and handshakes and Ringsend handed the trophy over to the winners for 2026 - Ballybrack SAC.

It was evident that some anglers were disappointed with their results yesterday, but you can’t catch fish that aren’t in front of you and it absolutely goes without saying that every angler played their part and represented their clubs greatly yesterday. Both clubs are already anticipating next years competition and I have no doubt it will be every bit as enjoyable as previous years. Until then from your 2026 winners at Ballybrack SAC - Tight lines 🎣🎣

1st March Ballybrack SAC on Roney Point. Another great turn out for the brackers. 25 anglers fished the second leg of the master angler. Weather forecast for the day was blowing a strong southerly, which made the choice of venue for this competition ideal. The sea was lumpy and coloured, with overcast skies and some showers throughout the day. Lines in at 11am, and it didn’t take too long for fish to start showing up. Peter Taite and Thomas Markey first off the mark with scoring fish in zone A, while on the other end of the beach it was Ramunas on the end peg straight into fish from the start. Meanwhile throughout the middle of the beach it was slim pickings for some anglers. Some anglers didn’t manage a scoring fish inside the first two hours, but eventually everyone had pen to paper and some healthy competition commenced.

In zone A Peter Taite was first in with a fish. Thomas Markey, Joe Cannon and Dean Forbes were picking off a few too. The bulk of fish caught being whiting, plenty of undersized fish showing up too. Some flat fish made an appearance throughout the middle of the competition. John keane and Stephen Glynn who had a slow start came back into contention picking up a steady run of fish. John was rewarded for staying at range landing 3 dogfish and a spurdog. As things slowed down towards the end of the competition Dean Forbes who was consistently picking off the whiting at range had a comfortable Zone win with a fine haul of 19 fish 👏🏻 Well done Dean great fishing. This was followed by John Keane in 2nd place and Stephen Glynn in 3rd. A lot of anglers finished up on similar numbers of fish making it again a very close competition for the top few spots.

Zone B had similar results throughout the competition, with the exception of Ramunas who was off to a flyer taking advantage of his end peg. Middle of the pack saw Paul Tyndall, Eric Gasparro and Denis Brock battling it out for a top spot, dragging it out right to the last cast. Lar Mooney and Dave Coleman had a great competition going right to the end also. Again there was very close results in the final tally, with some anglers only being separated by a few points. As the final whistle blew, new member Ramunas Butkus fished a great competition and dominated his zone for the win and overall best result on the day landing 26 counting fish. Well done Ramunas great start to your year. 2nd place in zone B went to Paul Tyndall and Eric Gasparro took 3rd.

In the Juniors , it was a second consecutive victory for new member Donnacha Brock who is already showing that he can mix with the seniors and do the damage even on the slow days. He fished a great match to take the win, again landing some high scoring fish on his card. Sean Keane who was catching well but unable to find the spurdogs finished in 2nd and Paul Crimmons who managed some nice flats at the end of zone B finished in 3rd.

Longest Round fish went to Lar Mooney with a 45cm Spurdog and Longest Flat fish was shared between Donnacha Brock and Robbie Durning with a 26cm Flounder.

Species for the day were mostly whiting, some dogfish and spurdogs, dabs and flounders and 1 bass. A very enjoyable competition for the time of year and everyone starting to settle back into the matches. Well done to al the winners on the day. Tight Lines 🎣

Sunday -15th February Ballybrack SAC fished the 1st leg of the master angler series for 2026. Conditions were favourable with the westerly wind /breeze presenting much calmer than forecasted. All anglers were keen to wet a line and get to it, in our first qualifying competition since 2025. Fishing commenced at midday with 26 anglers ( a mix of old members and newly affiliated brackers) lined the shingle of Kiltennel Beach.

The first few casts returned fish along the beach but it was not consistent for anyone. A mix of fish baits and worms were hurled around a series of banks at mid range with a mix of species returning in the first few hours of the competition. Spurdogs were being landed in patches and some dabs and whiting. Rockling turned out for most anglers throughout the competition. A few nice plump flounders showed up and Robbie durning managed a nice counting bass too. Dave Coleman welcomed a fine Brill to his scorecard.

In Zone A Darragh Mulligan was off to a good start , and Paul Tyndall consistently grinding out a fish every few casts was impressive. A slower start on the lower pegs but fishing picked up after the first hour with everyone catching mid competition. John Keane steadily catching a few now and clawing back some of the deficit to come back into contention. It was a little too late as Paul Tyndall was well ahead after fishing very well and in a comfortable lead. Thomas Markey, Joe Cannon and John Doyle were all in with a shout and not far behind. Paul Tyndalls commitment to picking off good size fish at range served him well and he finished in 1st place and took the overall win with John Keane claiming 2nd and Darragh Mulligan with 3rd.

Zone B started off very similar and as the competition progressed, some anglers were plagued with smaller stamp of fish, frustrated by the numbers of non counting undersized whiting. Dennis Brock on his return to the match scene was finding a few fish and sitting nicely in the mix, along with Robbie Durning in the higher pegs fishing very well also. In the final few exchanges, things were very close in zone B between Jamie, Eric, Robbie and Ramunas with only a few points separating them. Stephen Glynn and Peter Taite both fished a great match from start to end, consistently picking out good counting fish. 1st place was claimed by Stephen Glynn, close 2nd to Peter Taite and 3rd Dennis Brock.

As these competitions progress, it’s becoming more evident that all of the juniors are really fishing their socks off. In zone B, new kid on the block Donnacha Brock landed some impressive fish, and was putting his dad Dennis under a bit of pressure. Sean Keane in Zone A also catching well with a mix bag of spurs, flats, rockling and whiting. Both anglers beat a lot of the seniors comfortably, and battled it out for 5hrs. In the final shake up both anglers finished on same amount of fish, with Donnacha Brock taking the win on his first Ballybrack competition. Well done Donnacha 👌🏻👌🏻 Paul Crimmons at the opposite end of zone A, fished very well and secured some good counting fish to keep up with the seniors around him and claimed 3rd place. Well done lads, absolutely savage fishing again 🙌🏻.

In the Pools - biggest round fish was awarded to Eric Gasparro for a welcomed 45cm spurdog and Lar Mooney retrieved a fine flounder of 32cm to take the biggest flatfish for the day.

The Junior Cup was presented to Jesse Murphy - the overall winner for 2025 after a consistent run of wins and great fishing all year. In the Seniors - Eric Gasparro got his name on the Ballybrack Cup for 2025 after an outstanding years fishing and a deserved winner. A great start to 2026 and looking forward to the next one. Tight Lines 🎣

Well done to these two brackers Lar Mooney and Stephen Glynn, along with their team mates Alby Allan and Brendan Wall, taking top spot in the 4 man team at the Winter shore festival. What was a gruelling weekends fishing, and cut short by crazy weather events, they battled through day one and two and came away with this trophy for their efforts. Their names will mark this fine trophy alongside all of the other greats from over the years ! A very well deserved reward for this 4 man lineup of top match anglers. Well done lads.

Lar Mooney, one of the very few anglers who managed to find fish in the Saturday competition also took away an individual zone win for the day. A great achievement in such a prestigious and competitive event. Well done Lar 🎣

Congratulations to Ballybrack SAC’s Eric Gasparro on winning the 2025 Leinster League Title and collecting this lovely trophy last week. Eric had a fantastic year winning the Leinster title and also taking top spot in the ballybrack sac master angler series.

Anyone who knows Eric well enough, is aware of the hard work, preparation and time he puts into his fishing. This achievement comes as no surprise to a lot of us, and we are excited to see him represent Leinster next year. We hope to see him representing Ireland again in the future. Aside from his knowledge of the sport and talent on the beach, Eric is also a fantastic guy and very deserving of his victories to date. He puts a huge effort in at this club and we are very proud to have him.

Thanks to the organisers of the Leinster League and all the effort that goes into running these events. Well done Eric 🎣🇮🇪

Congratulations to 2 Ballybrack SAC anglers Dave Coleman and Sean Keane, who both qualified for the Irish Home Nations Team while representing Leinster this weekend at the Interpros in Wexford. These lads done great as expected, and done their club proud.

Dave will represent his country with pride on the men’s senior Irish Team and Sean on the U16’s Irish Team travelling to the UK this year for the 2026 Home Nations championship.

As we close out the year and look forward to a new one, Ballybrack SAC reflect on the ups and downs of 2025.

“Double Header Arklow South”
Most Recently at our Double Header competition on Arklow south beach in November, it was a busy day with anglers kept going hauling mostly whiting in both of the 3hr competitions. A peg change performed during the interval didn’t alter the pace or the fishing too much, with most anglers bagging up good numbers of fish.

However, a few anglers closed out the year in true fashion. Eric Gasparro who already had the master angler series in the bag after the first competition win, went on to win his zone in the second competition for good measure. Savage fishing all year and a well deserved victory and triumph. A special mention must also go to Paul Tyndall, who also had a zone win and a zone 2nd finish for the day, tidying up his year in a very close 2nd place over all. In the Juniors - Jesse Murphy finished as he started with a double shot of zone wins also closing out the year for him with his name on the Ballybrack junior cup for 2025. Well done Jesse, we are all very proud of the angler you have become and look forward to seeing you at it again in 2026. Other species caught for the day were Bass, Flounder, Dabs, Poor Cod and Dogfish. A Cup presentation for the 2025 Master Angler series winners Eric Gasparro and Jesse Murphy will take place at the first outing in 2026. Well done again lads on the great wins all year.

“Double Trouble”
Double trouble at the Kerry Pairs in July. Stephen Glynn and Paul Tyndall travelled down southwest to compete in the Kerry Pairs competition in July. A force to be reckoned with, these lads took the win for the day over some other top anglers. Well done Lads. Both Stephen and Paul also play a huge role in helping our juniors and new members at the club. Thanks for everything lads.

“New Beginnings”
Ballybrack SAC and Ringsend Irishtown Angling Club got together in June to host the first year of the Dublin Challenge cup. With victory not going our way, it was still a fantastic day and a great success for everyone involved. The first of a “matchplay” style event in the sport for something different. The lads in Ringsend fished great and got their name on the cup for this year, but they are only minding it until 2026 🙂

“International Debut”
Junior Sean Keane travelled to Pen*scola in Spain with the Ireland U16 Team and secured Bronze medal for their clubs and country. An amazing feat after a huge amount of work went into the preparations for this World Championships. All the brackers got behind Sean and he was well equipped for success going over. Well done, Sean also qualified for the 2026 Team heading to Italy 🇮🇪

“Ladies Man”
Our ladies man Stephen Glynn led the Ladies Irish Team to Portugal in October for the World Championships. With short notice and little time to prepare he stepped up to help them. They fished a great campaign considering the circumstances and did their country proud. We are very proud of Stephen for this selfless act and huge commitment, and for doing such a good job !

“Leinster Victory”
Eric Gasparro with an unbelievable run of hard work and form won the Leinster league title finishing in top spot for the year and making a savage return to the match fishing scene. We are looking forward to see him compete on teams next year 👌🏻

“Goodbye For Now”
With all the success for the club this year, we must also reflect on the pain of the loss for our dear friend and comrade Jack Keegan. A huge loss and blow to our club, but we remember him with pride and in character. Truthfully, the club would not be still running today only for Jack. He is still there with us in spirit at every competition. And as we head in to 2026, we will continue the great work he done for us.

“Looking On”
To wrap up 2025 enjoy some of our members pictures and memories for this year from competitions, pleasure fishing catches and even Larry’s massive ray in Lanzarote. Picture of the year for me goes to Junior Harry Hughes with his absolute beauty of a po***ck. The catch was even recorded live by his grandad John on his phone. What a moment and the smile says it all.

For 2026 Ballybrack SAC has welcomed a lot of new members to the club. We have welcomed some great experienced anglers to the club and also some complete newbies to match angling, and we can’t wait to meet you all on the beach in 2026 for the craic and the tight lines 🎣🎣🇮🇪
From all of us at the club we wish you and yours a Happy New Year.
Slàinte

Congratulations to Bracker Sean Keane who qualified in top spot at the fish offs for the 2026 International Ireland U16 Team to represent his country at the World shore fishing championships in Italy. After representing his country already this year in Spain and bringing home bronze medal, we have no doubt you and the team will be well prepared again for this one !

A very strong team of 6 anglers and management will head to the shores of Italy next October for a week of tough competition against the world’s finest anglers. These lads fished gruelling conditions last weekend on two venues and battled the elements to secure their places on the team. Well done young man a super achievement. Your club and country are proud 🇮🇪🎣🎣