Posts Categorized: News

The IWDG were saddened to hear of the passing of Matt Murphy, founder of Sherkin Island Marine Station last Thursday. Matt was a legendary figure in the realm of marine biology and marine environmentalism in Ireland, and particularly in west Cork. Matt established Sherkin Island Marine Station, with his wife Eileen, in 1975. The Marine

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At time of writing in early March 2025, our 2024/25 fin whale season is nearing an end.  It looked like it was over by late January, with just a single fin whale sighting record off Helvic Head, Co. Waterford on February 8th however, effort watches since Feb. 25th by our local IWDG Cork group have

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Humpback whale review 2024

Our 2023 Irish humpback whale season produced a tally of 134 sighting records. At time of writing in early February 2025, we’ve received an almost identical tally of sighting records (n=133 see map right).  It’s reasonable to assume that at this stage most of our humpbacks have either commenced or are about to depart on

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On Saturday, 30th November 2024,  Gemma received a call from Belmullet Garda Station about a live-stranded common dolphin near the Claggan Island causeway, Belmullet. This marked the third weekend in a row that a common dolphin had live-stranded in Ireland. The adult female was in good condition. Due to the remote location, she was initially

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A recent argument critical of the development of Phase I bottom-fixed offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea and off Connemara has emerged, suggesting the State should divert its energies into building floating offshore wind (FLOW) far out to sea. It is claimed that FLOW has less environmental impact, and has the advantage that greater

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On Saturday, 23rd November, a lone dolphin in distress was discovered on the shoreline by Lisa Lomax, who quickly contacted the IWDG and provided videos of the situation. IWDG responders were alerted, and as the dolphin appeared to be in reasonable condition and given that it was a pelagic species who may not know coastal

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