The lifesavers had just taken up their posts before the Bank Holiday weekend at Kilteery Pier, Loughill, when they made the discovery.

John Considine, Limerick County Council administrative officer, had brought the lifeguards to the pier for for a health and safety meeting before they commenced work for the summer.

"We could actually smell them from the pier. The tide was out so we could see them in the mud. There were three carcasses, one is there for a while as it has been reduced to a skeleton but the other two are fairly recent," said Mr Considine, who said the council put "massive expenditure", believed to be in the region of €80,000, into the pier last year to maximise its tourist potential on the Shannon Estuary.

Mr Considine said whoever got rid of the dogs knew what they were doing.

"The dogs have had their ears cut off (ID numbers are tattooed on the ear] which shows a deliberate attempt to avoid detection and identification. We're hoping to get a phone call from a member of the public that might recognise the dogs from the photos. One of the dogs in particular has distinctive markings," said Mr Considine, who thinks the greyhounds are coursing dogs instead of racing ones as they are "big, boney dogs".

"We're also contacting Bord na gCon about it and we may take hair samples for DNA testing. We're taking this as seriously as we can. A huge effort has been made to make an amenity area out of Kilteery pier including massive expenditure on the pier itself," he said.

Local man Ger Reidy, of the Loughill Community Development Association, said it was sickening behaviour.

"It's an awful low thing to do. It was heaven there this weekend, There were some of the biggest crowds that have been in Kilteery in a long time. We're very proud of it and everyone in the local community is absolutely shocked and disgusted. We are not going to let this go," concluded Mr Reidy.