Winning gold a 'dream come true' for anglers

James O'Doherty said the win was "massive"

Northern Ireland anglers who netted a gold medal at the Feeder Fishing World Championship for Nations have described it as the "biggest honour".

They were speaking after Team Ireland took the title at the competition in Mérida in Spain earlier in May.

Johnny McKinley, 41, the first ever recipient of two gold team medals in Irish coarse angling, said the win was "still sinking in".

It was "the biggest honour you could win", he told BBC News NI.

Mr McKinley, from County Armagh, said it had been "surreal" and while he would have been happy to bring home any medal, "nothing else can top" taking the gold.

Team Ireland are non-professional anglers who staved off competition from 20 other countries during the competition.

It was "hard work" but according to Mr McKinley they still managed to have "a good laugh".

Johnny McKinley is the first man to win two gold team medals in Irish coarse angling

Also among the winners was 25-year-old James O'Doherty, who started angling when he was aged 11.

He described the win as "massive" and paid tribute to his parents whom he said had supported him since "back in the day".

Mr O'Doherty revealed he had driven from his home in County Fermanagh to Spain so he could bring all his equipment for the competition.

He said the benefits of angling include travelling to places "he could never have dreamed of" such as South Africa.

It had also had a positive impact on his mental well-being, he added.

When you are at the waterside, he said, "you forget about any problems you might have going on in your personal life".

Team Ireland is now ranked 8th in the world

What is coarse fishing?

• In short, it is angling for fresh water fish - such as roach and bream which are common in Ireland

• In Spain, where the championships were held, carp would be a common catch

• With coarse angling, the catch and release method is used meaning that all fish are returned to the water

Mr O'Doherty and Mr McKinley spoke of the time and preparation for competition days.

That includes planning what kind of things will attract fish in certain rivers.

Mr McKinley said they used several ground up ingredients including sweetcorn for the competition in Spain.

But sometimes, he said, anglers use ingredients like vanilla.

Brenton Sweeney (right) said he had been hoping to win gold for a long time

This is the first gold medal for Team Ireland and the first medal achieved overseas.

The squad is now ranked 8th in the world.

Michael Buchwalder who also took individual gold, Johnny McKinley, James O'Doherty, Charlie Richards and Rory Dunne made up this year's team.

Team Ireland faced some of the world’s best match anglers from the 20 nations, including top ranking teams England, Hungary and the Netherlands.

Ireland took the top position with 59 points, Lithuania was second with 60 and bronze went to Germany which had 62 points.

Manager Brenton Sweeney said he had achieved a long time ambition and described the overseas win as a "dream come true".