#MarineWildlife - Though the weekend's miserable wintry weather made this year's Whale Watch Ireland something of a 'washout', according to TheJournal.ie, for those who did turn out there was a good chance of seeing some of our bountiful marine wildlife in action.
Despite a number of the 20 organised events being cancelled, it's thought that some 1,500 people still braved the elements on Sunday afternoon (24 August) and had more than a 50 per cent chance of seeing a whale, dolphin or porpoise off Ireland's coast.
Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) sightings officer Pádraig Whooley says the results of this year's nationwide whale watch are still being collated.
But it's already on record that Ireland is one of the vest places on earth for the pastime.
As the Sunday Independent reports, the numbers of humpback whales visiting our waters are estimated at nearly 300 out of a global population of 80,000, following a record summer for sightings off Ireland.
And as previously reported on Afloat.ie, Ireland is now considered "one of the best locations in the northern hemisphere" to film cetaceans in action.