From facing off with the Russian navy, to giving up a five-generation fishing tradition 

A man who was prepared to stand up to the Russian navy is now on the verge of giving up his own fight to stay in the Irish fishing industry

Alan Carleton says that the indigenous Irish fisherman is being pushed further and further out of his fishing grounds. Picture: Neil Michael

For a brief moment, Alan Carleton was at the centre of a bizarre stand-off between Irish fishermen and the Russian navy.

Back in January 2022, he and other fishermen had threatened to peacefully disrupt Russia's naval plans to hold live firing exercises 240 km off the Cork coast.