This article is from page 37 of the 2013-12-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 37 JPG
BUNRATTY was the place to be in April as a small school of dolphins took up residence under the famous bridge. The dolphins drew large crowds for weeks – and prompted much concern over their safety before if became clear that they were there by choice and had not become trapped.
An attempt to rescue the bottle nose dolphins was planned early in April but never went ahead. Speak- ing ahead of the proposed rescue missing, the Clare based Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), said the dolphins appeared “relatively healthy”.
“In my opinion something will have to be tried this week. They are healthy at the moment but with the low tide coming on Wednesday, something will probably have to be tried,” said Simon Berrow of the IWDG in early April.
“The longer this goes on the more stressed the animals will get. They are in fresh water and that is damaging their kidneys right now and it will also start to damage their skin as well.
“We have also heard reports of kids throwing stones at them when they get close to the shore and we would appeal to anyone who comes to visit the dolphins, not to engage in this sort of behavior.”
The dolphins were discovered on March 31, in murky water close to the old bridge over Bunratty River, close to Durty Nelly’s Pub. The last time that dolphins became stranded in this area was in 1995, when Clare recorded one of its finest summers in recent memory.
Some locals are hopeful that the return of the dolphins are a sign of a good summer ahead. Hurling fans are also hopeful that the return of the dolphins to Bunratty may also be on omen suggesting a hurling season similar to what took place in 1995.