The Horse-Eels Of Connemara

[BIAD]

Another anomalous body of water in the Connemara area is Lough Fadda. Situated just a little west of Ballynahinch
Castle and not far from the same highway that leads to Derrylea Lough and eventually the coastal town of Clifden.

Lough Fadda is a favourite with anglers of Rainbow Trout along with fellow piscarians such as herons and otters.
In the 1950s, a local fisherman was startled by a huge splash and saw a long, black shape emerge from the water.
Observing the creature had smooth skin, a head like a shark, and a mouth full of sharp teeth, the man took to his
boat's oars with great verve as he noticed the beastie was heading his way. Escaping this frightful situation, it is
said the fisherman had nightmares for weeks after and never returned to the lake alone.

When researching incidents many years after an event, accounts such as these often morph and entwine into a single
occurrence. When Georgina Carberry and her friends encountered something that is said not to exist, the Lough Fadda
mentioned by some researchers -and even offer coordinates, is posited to reside further south than the actual location.
One can appreciate the confusion as Wikipedia catalogues ten bodies of water in Ireland with the same name, but
Miss Carberry lived in Clifden, a town close to the lough we're looking at in this report.
................................

Anyway, here's the account.
With nearby Clifden Angling Association utilising the long-thin lake, young Georgina Carberry, Una Moran and two
of their friends decided to hunt for some freshwater fare out on the water by using one of the fishing club's row-boats.
It was a nice fairly-warm June day in 1965 and abandoning their bicycles for their rods and reels, the four anglers
rowed out across Lough Fadda unaware of what broke the surface a decade earlier.

As the sun began its journey westwards, the quartet moored their boat beside the calm waters and settled down for a
picnic, their respective trout laying close by. Noticing a strange shape moving in the lough some distance away, young
Georgina believe it to be a man taking a dip in the cold lake near an island. As the Google Map image below shows,
there seems to be no islands in Lough Fadda and I believe this where the story picked-up errors from other reports.


What They Saw.                                                           Where They Saw It.

The mysterious object was approaching the young party enjoying their outdoor meal at a very leisurely pace and
drawing closer, Georgina, Una and their friends became concerned at what it might be. Getting to her feet when
the determined shape reached about twenty yards from their alfresco soiree, Georgina became frightened and
quickly moved away from the lough's edge with her alarmed friends swiftly joining her in the retreat.

Whether the creature obtained their fear through unknown means or simply saw the movement on shore is debatable
as it hastily swam around a rock and plunged from view. Snatching up their catch, the four terrified youths retrieved
their bicycles and headed for home, Georgina looking over her shoulder with trepidation of a possible chase.

The details of what they observed were that the animal -when nearing the quartet opened its "huge great mouth"
and Georgina described the animal's skin as "wormy" or "creepy", like the thing had movement throughout its body
all through the duration it was seen. Two large humps were discerned behind the head on the surface of the lough
and when the animal veered around the rock, Miss Carberry said she noticed a forked tail. Teeth were seen in the
gaping mouth and it was agreed they seemed like those of a shark.

Since the hair-raising episode was not something naturally acceptable, the Clifden Angling Association were notified
and two armed men were dispatched to the lough in the event the creature revealed itself once more. Just as in an
account mentioned earlier, Georgina Carberry claimed to have reoccurring nightmares afterwards and avoided Lough
Fadda for a good six or seven years.

Here's Georgina and Una feelings on what they saw.


The Lough Fadda Account.