It was around about 2000 that Boho-born Jim Treacy came on the scene at Castle Hume where, in a week's time, he will officially open a 125-bedroom hotel and where, next year, he will follow that up with a Nick Faldo designed, 18-hole championship golf course.
Last week, as he awaited Faldo's arrival to play three completed holes of the course and give the media a guided demonstration of its design concept, Mr Treacy traced his steps from the present to the past for a snapshot of a remarkable project, the Lough Erne Golf Club Resort, which encompasses, the course, the hotel and holiday cottages.
"It would have come about from a visit to Loch Lomond," he explained. "It's in a similar setting. That would have been my inspiration to see what could be done with a similar site and, actually, I think our site is better and more tranquil."
Unknown to Jim, Nick Faldo, who he was to meet later, had already espied the Castle Hume lakeside site from his helicopter.
But, back to the then. With his good friend, retired Dublin businessman Peter O'Connor at his side, the two considered a variety of possibilities, not least what to do with 'an island with a golf course on it'.
"Faldo, of course, did spring to mind because he is the most successful European golfer of all time, no doubt about that. We, myself and Peter met him in Valderama and, basically, showed him an overview. He told us he had seen that himself, that he had actually flown over it years before – amazing – when he was the British Open champion.
"So, there was no difficulty convincing Faldo. He saw the potential and, as he said himself, 'I have played on every continent and I can honestly say I am overwhelmed by the location and the beauty of the Lough Erne project'.
"We use that quote a lot in our marketing," Mr Treacy added. "It's basically about marketing because, at the end of the day, it was a field in the middle of an island, so it's about bringing it from that to the worldwide golfing places."
Mr Treacy, a father of seven, lives in Belcoo with his wife, Eileen, and family. She, along with her husband and Peter O'Connor are the directors of the Lough Erne Golf Resort. Mr Tracey's brother, Michael, is the project manager.
He chuckled when it was suggested that his headaches were nearly over.
"As you can imagine, it took years of planning and meetings and the usual things that go with something like that, for the past six to seven years. But, yes, you do get satisfaction when you finally see it coming together.
"You have to establish the location first and get that sort of message out there to a wider audience, and that takes time. It doesn't happen overnight, but anything that is worth doing takes time. If you have patience, you see it through."
Asked about the impact of the 'Troubles' in those early days on the project, Mr Treacy had no trouble responding: "To be honest, it was a hard sell, but the last year in particular has given it a great impact."
Mr Treacy does play golf himself but he is more at home travelling to the big golfing tournaments, the Home Countries and the US Open among them.
