In spring 2026, IWDG officers Cian Ó Nialáin and Eva Lambert managed to escape the office and run a series of events up and down Ireland’s coast.
With the help of Fair Seas, the IWDG Local Groups Road Show shared stories, skills and citizen science in twelve of Ireland’s sixteen coastal counties. The aim of this travelling event was to generate interest in whales and dolphins while also empowering members of coastal communities to help us in our conservation work from their local patch.
County Clare Road Show with Local Group Flag
While the main reason most of us joined the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group is because we happen to like whales and dolphins and want to see them thriving in Irish waters, that on its own won’t stand. The more we allow ourselves to learn about these magnificent marine mammals, the more we explore beyond a simple species ID, the better equipped we are to understand how they are using Irish waters and to recognize the threats that face them. From there we can more effectively advocate for them and set measurable conservation goals.
The Local Groups Road Show was about taking that passion for whales and dolphins to the next level, whether that’s lunging into our citizen science schemes like a fin whale to a bait ball or simply realising that cetacean conservation is something you can be a part of, and something quite accessible at that. Whale watching is a truly blessed hobby.
The highlights of our events were without doubt our long-term data recorders; Nick Massett, John Brittain, Andrew Malcolm and Gary Burrows knocked the proverbial socks off of our audience with fantastic photos and footage of whales being whales. It simply never gets old. Dixie Collins didn’t even need photos to hook his audience.
We also featured local marine-related citizen science and outreach projects, including the Banner Gleo project of Liscannor Bay, the cross-border Coastal Monitoring and Adaptation Plan (CMAP), as well as Donegal Bay Trust in Ireland’s northwest. The variety of knowledge, experience and skill within our membership and the wider marine conservation community really was fascinating to listen to.
Yes, we had a wonderful variety of speakers, venues and audiences and every event was different. For Fair Seas however, the message was consistent.
We were delighted to be joined by not one but five members of Fair Seas’ incredible staff as they led an awareness campaign for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Eva Lambert, Donall Griffin, Iseult Cambay Grace Carr and Sarah Hegarty each had their own rendition of the Fair Seas presentation which sets out to explain what MPAs are, their different levels of protection, the benefits of robust management and how Ireland is performing to reach its ocean conservation targets.
To answer the last question, Ireland is currently engaged in the global 30 by 30 campaign – 30% of our marine territory is to be designated as MPAs by the year 2030. We now sit at ~10% with just under 3.5 years to reach our goal but we have never been in a better position to begin this designation process. For those of you at the Road Show who wished to hear updates on Marine Protected Areas, we have some very good news for you – consultation between key-stakeholders and government is poised to begin with an official MPA Bill to follow in due course. You can read about it here [iwdg.ie/a-milestone-for-irelands-seas-new-mpa-bill-marks-important-step-forward-for-marine-protection/].
Go raibh míol mór maith agaibh everyone who attended our Road Show events, from Letterkenny to Tramore to West Cork to Bangor. Your passion for our mighty marine megafauna is what keeps this show on the road – and we’re already planning our next all-Ireland trip!
Thank you especially to our guest speakers who took the time to share their stories and expertise, including our very own IWDG officers. It was indeed a pleasure.