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Whale Watch Ireland Comes Early in 2024

15th May 2024
Whale Watch Ireland 2024

This year’s Whale Watch Ireland has been brought forward from its usual August date to coincide with National Biodiversity Week.

The nationwide whale watch organised by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) takes place this Saturday 18 May between 5pm and 7pm.

Now in its 22nd year, the annual event comprises free and guided whale watches at local headlands and vantage points around the island of Ireland.

The land-based watches provide IWDG researchers, citizen scientists and marine wildlife enthusiasts with a unique overview of cetacean activity in Ireland’s waters from the smallest dolphins and porpoise to the biggest humpback whales.

“We’re also hoping that in bringing it forward to early, rather than late summer, the odds of our delivering this event in more suitable weather will improve, as late August has done us very few favours in recent years,” the charity’s sightings officer Pádraig Whooley says.

While there are of course no guarantees of sightings, given reasonable weather you have a good chance of seeing some of the marine species that can be viewed locally.

For details on the 11 organised whale watching events, and how to make the most of the experience, see the IWDG website HERE.

Published in Marine Wildlife
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Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!