A Co Donegal teenager has used his part-time job at McDonald’s to fund a passion that recently saw him bring home gold for Ireland.
Zack Barnett from Porthall, Lifford formed part of the Irish Trout Fly Fishing Association (ITFFA) team that won gold in the Four Nations Lake Championships in Wales in early August – an impressive third consecutive win for the team, and the second year in a row that Zack has represented his country in the sport.
Adding further to his winning streak, 16-year-old Zack competed as part of the Ulster team that won the Trout Anglers Federation of Ireland (TAFI) All-Ireland River and Lake Competition just last week.
(Hooked: Zack is pictured above with Richard McNamara, Franchisee of McDonald’s Letterkenny and mum Yvonne Barnett.)
Born into a family of fishing, Zack followed in his grandfather and father’s footsteps with his love for the sport from a young age.
He was given his first lesson in fly fishing at Birchwood Fishery and, having caught his first fish, was hooked – he went home with his training rod and has never looked back.
His apparent talent was quickly spotted and nurtured by the Foyle River Catchment Outdoor Group (FROG Cic), who are still supporting Zack and helped him establish himself as an admired angler by both the ITFFA and TAFI.
But the Deele College pupil said his recent national success would not have been possible without the support of McDonald’s and, in particular, his Franchisee, Richard McNamara.
“Fly fishing is an expensive hobby and there is no official funding, so there is just no way I could have competed at a national level without McDonald’s” he explained.
“I spend my wages from my shifts in the restaurant on equipment and my Franchisee Richard – along with our local community, friends and family – provided the sponsorship to fund the recent trip to Wales, as well as my attendance at the World Championships in Italy last year.”
Zack took his first job at the McDonald’s restaurant in Letterkenny in 2022, where is sister Jessica, aged 20, works while studying at Ulster University and mother, Yvonne also works.
“McDonald’s has become a real family affair for us,” said Yvonne, who will soon celebrate 24 years working in the Letterkenny restaurant, where she is the HR manager and processes payroll and accounts.
“The friendship and craic with colleagues and customers in the restaurant are fantastic and genuinely make it a joy to go to work every day,” she said. “In McDonald’s you quickly become part of the McFamily and very much part of the local community, and that’s very special.
“We’re very blessed to have Richard as our Franchisee at Letterkenny. He has been so supportive, and generous to Zack and has really gone out of his way to help him pursue his passion for flyfishing.”
When he isn’t in the restaurant or fishing, Zack is honing another interest at the local McCarron Garage – his love for cars and bodywork, which he hopes to pursue at college after completing the Leaving Cert.
But fly-fishing is very much an ‘everyday sport’ and Zack grasps every opportunity to perfect his art at the nearby Birchwood and Ballyheather Lakes and Longvale Community Fishery, as well the Rivers Deele and Dennett, and River Foyle which is in his home village of Porthall.
Zack is now in training with the Irish Trout Fly Fishing Association (ITFFA) team for the qualifiers in September for the 2024 Four Nations Lake Champions – due to take place in England in August 2024, when the team hopes to bring home the ‘grand slam’ with a fourth consecutive win.
The teenager said he is committed to making his grandfather – who was inspirational in his fly-fishing journey but sadly passed away in 2021 before seeing him bring home gold – proud.
“I want to make my Granda proud,” he said. “I am ambitious and would love to compete again in the World Championships again someday and hopefully even win them. That means practising all year round, whether it’s a warm summer’s day, or a cold and wet winter’s day.”
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