'Remarkable': Delight as dolphins spotted swimming down River Shannon in Limerick city

CROWDS of people flocked to take photos and videos of a rare sight they spotted in the River Shannon.

Dolphins could be seen swimming along Limerick's riverside around on Thursday, June 12.

Seán Ryan, who lives in the Ennis Road area of the city, spotted the creatures bobbing up and down on the water and was surprised, given the fact they would very rarely come this far up the Shannon.

Upon seeing the dolphins, Seán headed down to the waterfront to take a few snaps of the waterbound visitors.

He said: "I was out walking my dog and saw people stopping on the Shannon Bridge and viewing, and wondered what it was all about. People were fascinated and were gathering at O'Callaghan Strand. The camera phones were out big time!

"I went further up to the Rowing Club and got pretty close. To see them this far inland, to where we live, we just don't think something like that is going to happen. They definitely captured people's attention, there were kids coming out of school at Salesians and getting a free education on them with parents and teachers."

A bit of a nature enthusiast himself, Seán has gone to Carrigaholt in Co Clare before to view the marine life there, where dolphins are aplenty. In light of this, Seán has his suspicions as to why a small fleet of dolphins are venturing this far inland.

"Their visits are becoming a bit more frequent. The one concern I would have is that, the lack of sprats around the coast and estuary is a real ecological problem because the marine life is running out of food supplies."

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Dolphins are more likely to be seen in the Shannon Estuary, as the River Shannon meets the Atlantic Ocean in West Limerick and North Kerry. There is even a project dedicated to the research of these sea creatures in the area, called the Shannon Dolphin Project, based out of the Shannon Dolphin Centre in Kilrush, Co. Clare and is one of the longest running in Europe. 

The Shannon dolphins are a unique year-round resident group of bottlenose dolphins inhabiting the Shannon Estuary. They are the only population in Ireland. 

The Estuary is one of the most important sites for bottlenose dolphins in Europe. In 2000, the estuary was designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), which entitles the dolphins and their habitat to full protection.