Originally appeared 11/23/05

I Have the Wrong Job #2

Net profit for fishermen with cream liqueur from the deep
	Christmas came early last week for Irish fishermen who hauled up an unexpected present in their nets while fishing off the English coast, writes Seán Mac Connell, Agriculture Correspondent. The Dunmore East prawn fishermen discovered that their catch included bottles of Carolans Irish Cream liqueur from the seabed. The fishermen were even more astonished when they found that, not only were they catching bottles of drink, but they were getting free glasses as well. Yesterday C&C International, which makes the liqueur, confirmed the loss of 8,000 bottles from a container load on its way to Spain. The 40ft container was lost in a storm in the Bay of Biscay last month on the way to Spain with supplies for the Christmas market. The Whiskey Galore!-style story surfaced in Dunmore East last weekend when some of the haul was brought back for inspection. "Fishermen from three trawlers who had been fishing for prawns in an area known as 'The Smalls' off the English coast brought some bottles into the pub over the weekend," said Mary Power, a local publican. "They told me the bottles were being brought up in the nets of three trawlers, two from Kilkeel and one from Clogherhead, which were here at the weekend," she said. "They could not believe their eyes when they saw the presentation packs of drink in the nets and the fact that the glasses in the cartons were not damaged in any way," said Mary, who runs Powers bar with her husband, Peter. She said the fishermen had brought their haul in to herself and her husband to see if they could identify them or give any clue as to where they might have come from as most of the labels had been washed off. Last night the mystery of the deep was solved by C&C International which confirmed the loss of a containerload of Carolans, which is the world's second-best-selling cream liqueur. "A 40ft container of product fell from the deck in a storm in the Bay of Biscay bound for the Spanish Christmas market last month. "The matter is with our insurers at the moment," said the statement. None of the fishermen who made last week's discovery could be contacted yesterday. They were back at sea fishing the same area. © The Irish Times