Garrison is a small village 5 miles south of Beleek, at the
eastern end of Lough Melvin. It is named from a barracks erected by
William III who halted here in 1691 after the Battle of Aughrim,
County Galway. It is interesting to note that this battle was the
bloodiest ever fought on Irish soil – over 7,000 people were
killed.
Lough Melvin is home to the Gillaroo or 'salmo stomachius' - a
species of trout which eats primarily snails. Gillaroo is derived
from the Gaeilge or Irish for 'red fellow' (giolla rua). This is
due to the fish's distinctive colouring. It has a bright buttery
golden colour on 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 Lough Melvin gillaroo species 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 when they come to the surface to feed
and may be caught on the dry fly. Other lakes reputed to contain
the gillaroo are Lough Neagh, Lough Conn, Lough Mask and Lough
Corrib. However, the unique gene found in the Lough Melvin trout
has not been found in some 200 trout populations in Ireland or
Britain.
The cache is a medium sized tab lock box enclosed in a black
fabric bag and contains the usual selection of small items.