Co Fermanagh has seen a tourism boom in recent years and is much-loved by many visitors, particularly those from south of the border.
However, one Irish newspaper columnist wasn’t too impressed on her recent trip to the Erne county and her scathing comments have been heavily criticised by a local MLA.
Irish independent columnist Brighid McLaughlin, writing in her weekend Brighid’s Diary column, took aim at her accommodation spot and the swimming conditions at Muckross Bay.
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A subheading for the column remarked that it was "grim up North", while the columnist also bemoaned a lack of a coffee shop on her two hour drive.
In the piece McLaughlin also claimed a friend of hers who is local to the county said: “ Enniskillen is a good business town, mainly loyalist, they are friendly when they are making money. But generally those outside it wouldn’t be too welcoming to you southerners.”
Tom Elliott, Ulster Unionist MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, has rubbished the column and said they were ‘unhelpful, unrealistic and unfair.’
“These wide-ranging comments have no basis in reality are detrimental to Fermanagh,” Elliott told Belfast Live.
“If I went to Leitrim or Dublin and made such scathing comments, it wouldn’t go down too well.
“In fact I have been to those places and seen some negative things, but it doesn’t mean you base your entire viewpoint on it.
“There have been a couple of recent reports over the last year that people in Fermanagh have been voted the happiest in the UK.
“I just think that comments like that are totally unhelpful, unrealistic and unfair.”
Noelle McAloon from Enniskillen BID, which represents a number of local businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry locally, said it was a shock to read such a negative review.
“We can’t be everyone’s cup of tea unfortunately,” Noelle said. “We experience such high levels of feedback that it can be quite a shock when this type of review is written up.
“We will continue to work on the positives and make Enniskillen the best it can be for all visitors.”
Although the columnist noted that the county was ‘very pretty’, McLaughlin quickly noted the lack of lattes in the proximity.
She wrote: “I have a few aul buddies in Enniskillen who tell me the three patrons of Enniskillen are Nathan Carter, Father Brian D’Arcy and Lord Brookeborough, no less. Well, whatever about the patrons, you wouldn’t want to be dying for a latte on the way there. Not a coffee shop to be seen for two hours. I drove through a place called Kesh, past the old RUC station. The whole town had Union Jacks and Red Hand of Ulster flags everywhere.
“The hotel wasn’t great, to be honest. Outdated and fusty. The staff were tactfully, mechanically polite, if you get my drift. It turned out what I would call a stiff little spot. Put it like this, you’d know you were in the North. You can sense it. And they can sense you.”
So what do you make of Ms McLaughlin's remarks? Where would you take her to show off the best of the county and Northern Ireland? Let us know your recommendations in the comments below.
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