#GalwayBay - Further research is needed to find out the full extent of the newly discovered underground rivers beneath Galway Bay that have surprised scientists since the discovery was announced a month ago.

Mail Online reported on researchers' claims that the sea bed off Galway could be hiding one of the world's largest networks of freshwater aquifers running between the limestone plains of the Burren and the Aran Islands.

The discovery was only made after locals on Inis Meáin talked of a freshwater well that never went dry - and an investigation by NUI Galway researchers estimated that its source must be on the mainland.

Now geologists think the discovery could be just a fraction of a vast network of underground caverns and waterways, according to The Irish Times.

And the find could prove to be a solution to the problem of chronic water shortages on nearby Inis Oírr, if the aquifers can be tapped for fresh water.