The Shannon Dolphin Centre is also our research hub where we store samples and equipment for research and monitoring throughout Ireland. The Shannon Dolphin Centre welcomes bookings from schools.
Contact education@iwdg.ie to book a visit. The centre is open daily from May through to September unless research commitments mean we have to head out to sea. Located on Merchants Quay, Kilrush, Co. Clare, you can’t miss us!
Dolphinwatch and
Dolphin Discovery
The IWDG have been working in close collaboration with commercial dolphin watching companies in the Shannon Estuary since 1995. Not only do the tour boats provide a platform for our researchers to access dolphins, collect images for photo-id and record behaviour, but also provide log-sheets which record where tour boats locate dolphins but also how long it takes to find dolphins in the estuary.
This long time series of records enables the IWDG to be confident that dolphin watching in the estuary is sustainable and not impacting on ther dolphins.
IWDG would like to thank Dolphinwatch Carrigaholt and Dolphin Discovery Kilrush for their ongoing support.
Research students
at the centre
The IWDG welcome researchers to work with IWDG on areas of mutual interest. We have supported both PhD and MSc students in the past, wishing to work in the Shannon Estuary on the resident bottlenose dolphins, as the estuary is a natural laboratory for dolphin research. We also take on research assistants each summer to assist with the long term monitoring of the Shannon dolphins.
Volunteers will carry out dolphin photo-id from both tour boats and the IWDG RIB Muc Mhara and land-based monitoring from headlands such as Kilcredaun Point and Loop Head. Volunteers will also be able to join Celtic Mist for dolphin and whale surveys and visit stranded animals.
Contact enquiries@iwdg.ie for details on volunteering and research
Located on
Merchants Quay,
Kilrush, Co. Clare,
you can’t miss us!
Shannon Dolphin Centre – Temporary Closure
The Shannon Dolphin Centre is currently closed. This is due to ongoing challenges related to the housing crisis and economic conditions. Each summer, we rely on interns who train and work with us to keep the Centre open and free to the public. However, in recent years it has become increasingly difficult to secure affordable accommodation for them, with last year proving particularly difficult due to extraordinarily high rental costs.
Until we can secure a long-term solution and funding to support these students, we are unfortunately unable to reopen the Centre.
However, we will be open for a special week-long series of open days during Heritage Week, from Monday, 18 August to Friday, 22 August, between 11:00am and 4:00pm each day. We warmly invite the public to visit during these times to learn more about our work and the bottlenose dolphins of the Shannon Estuary.
In the meantime, we invite you to explore our website to learn more about who we are, our conservation and research activities, and how you can support our work. Members can also access additional resources by logging into their accounts and visiting the members’ area.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support. We look forward to welcoming you back in the future.
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MONDAY – THURSDAY
Closed
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FRIDAY
Closed
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SATURDAY
Closed
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SUNDAY
Closed