For thousands of years, whales, dolphins, and porpoises (cetaceans) have played an essential role in human culture and mythology. The ancient Greeks and Romans celebrated these sentient animals through storytelling, art, and poetry in which they represented intelligence and kindness. Held in high esteem, dolphins were closely linked with the gods. The sun god Apollo,
IWDG Join The Salty Sea Sisters 1st Birthday The Salty Sea Sisters are a “community of wild women from across the isles of Ireland and the UK who support, connect and encourage each other in the pursuit of adventure through the strength of sistership”. They celebrated one year together in style this September at Fair
by Stephanie Levesque, IWDG Strandings Officer June 2021 To date, IWDG have received a total of 291 stranding records in 2021. This represents a 62% increase compared to this time last year, which in itself was a record year for strandings. COVID-19 restrictions have most certainly lead to increased reporting, however, Ireland was in full
The IWDG welcomes the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage report on Expanding Ireland’s Marine Protected Area Network. Public consultation is now open and the IWDG are encouraging all those interested in advancing this critical policy decision to get informed and contribute to the process. Currently, there is no definition of Marine Protected Areas
Distinguished Contributors Awards 2020 is a series of annual awards which acknowledges those who have made a significant contribution to the work of the IWDG. The recipient of the DCA from the IWDG for Cetacean sighting scheme is Ann Trimble . IWDG Sighting’s Officer Pádraig Whooley who nominated Ann says: “based on her dedication to carrying out
Whale Tales 2020 was slightly different this year. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we, unfortunately, could not meet in person. However, with a small team from the IWDG office in Kilrush, we were lucky enough to utilise Purecamping’s beautiful yoga studio converting it temporarily into a fully functioning broadcasting hub. Delivering Whale Tales via an online
It is with great disappointment that IWDG has learned of the new government’s proposal to move the responsibility for nature and biodiversity (including the National Parks and Wildlife Services) to the Department of Housing. As we face a biodiversity and climate change crisis, it is essential that environmental concerns be given the full considerations that
The annual meeting of the IWDG’s Stranding Network was held in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology on the 7th of March 2020. Despite having to cancel and reschedule this event due to a Red Weather Warning, there was a fantastic turnout with over 30 members of the stranding network present. The stranding network meeting offers a
IWDG visited the stranded fin whale on Dollymount Strand today before it was buried. Sibéal Regan and Conal O’Flanagan measured the whale at 11.7m and determined it to be a male. Thanks to Pat Corrigan and Dublin City Council for waiting for IWDG before burying the whale to enable us to get valuable samples. Some