There have been calls for retaliation after a Gortin man went on TripAdvisor last week and left a scathing review of the Coalisland Canal and general area, giving it no stars out of 5.

The reviewer, known as TheGortinRambler, visited the canal after a recent radio show mentioned it in a quiz competition. The 4.5-mile-long canal takes in picturesque areas such as the town itself, Gortgonis and Derrytresk before meeting the Blackwater which flows into Lough Neagh.

The offending review stated:

“What a load of dung. All it had was trees, bird, hedges, water, flies and THERE WAS NO WIFI. And the locals just grunted and said stuff about the weather. It isn’t a patch on the Gortin Glens. The West is the Best. I’ll not be back.”

The Coalisland Canal PR team requested a meeting with TripAdvisor and asked for the comment to be taken down as TheGortinRambler was ‘obviously out to pull tourists to the west of the county from the east‘ according to their vice-chairman Vincent Taylor, an uncle of Dennis the snooker player. TripAdvisor refused the request on the grounds of freedom of speech.

Over 300 Coalisland residents are planning a trip to Gortin Glens this weekend and we have been told that reviews will be posted that day by all 300.