Lough Neagh'sStories

Lough Neagh's Stories was set up in 2020 by Gary and Anne-Marie McErlain as a small, family-run tour business built around Gary's background as a seventh-generation Lough Neagh fisherman. Gary became an accredited Lough Neagh Ambassador and tour guide in 2017 and now leads boat trips departing from Ballyronan Marina and Toome, covering the lough's commercial fishing heritage, its wildlife and ecology, and literary connections including a Seamus Heaney-themed tour. Trips run as passenger boat outings rather than self-drive hire, with private charters and family taster tours also available alongside the core fishing-heritage trip. Bookings are taken directly by phone or email rather than through a large platform, and departure points are arranged around the lough shore near Magherafelt and Moneymore. The operation remains a single small family business rather than a multi-site tour company.