Irish Whale and Dolphin Group

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Irish Whale and Dolphin Group Become a member of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, volunteer, contribute or donate https://iwdg.ie/donate/

Dedicated to the conservation of whales, dolphins and porpoise in Irish waters through education and research. We achieve this through a number of IWDG Activities.

1. We work towards making the Irish Whale and Dolphin Sanctuary effective in the conservation of all cetaceans that either live in, or migrate through Irish waters.

2. We work in co-operation with industry, fishermen and other groups whose interests may sometimes conflict with those of cetacean conservation. We will work side by side with them to solve cetacean conservation problems to the benefit of both humans and cetaceans.

3. We work with the general public, to highlight the fact that Ireland is one of the best locations in the world to see cetaceans and to stress the need to conserve our cetaceans.

4. We encourage and promote responsible whale-watching in Ireland.

5.We work to educate coastal communities in how to recognise cetacean species that strand along their coasts and what they can do in the event of a live stranding.

6. We support and conduct research into cetacean ecology and conservation in Ireland, aiding and working alongside universities, government agencies and other research groups. The IWDG is a charity registered with the Charities Regulator, Registered Charity Number (RCN): 20029913

IWDG completes final Mud Safety Training course in Kerry!This weekend saw our final Rescue 3 Europe Mud Safety course ta...
18/10/2026

IWDG completes final Mud Safety Training course in Kerry!

This weekend saw our final Rescue 3 Europe Mud Safety course take place in Cloghane, Co. Kerry, a well-known live-stranding hotspot for common dolphins, with extensive areas of soft mud in the nearby Owenmore Estuary.

Across the programme, 30 IWDG live-stranding responders from across Ireland, north, south, east and west, have taken part in specialist mud safety training with Langan Search & Rescue.

We couldn’t have achieved this without the tremendous support of the Biodiversity Officers in Kerry, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Louth and Dublin, through the NPWS Local Biodiversity Action Fund, alongside funding from IWDG’s National Lottery Good Causes award.

Live strandings can be emotional and stressful situations, but human safety must always come first. This training strengthens our national response capability and is an important step towards developing IWDG’s first team of advanced live-stranding responders.

A huge thank you to Langan Search & Rescue for delivering the training, O’Connor’s Bar & B&B for the use of their facilities, and all the responders who took part!

The Heritage Council
Kerry County Council
Cork County Council
Galway County Council
Mayo County Council
Louth County Council
Sligo Heritage Office
Dublin City Council Parks and Biodiversity


A warm welcome to Dr Yasin Undre, our new voluntary Veterinary & Welfare Officer!Yasin is a vet working in private pract...
13/10/2026

A warm welcome to Dr Yasin Undre, our new voluntary Veterinary & Welfare Officer!

Yasin is a vet working in private practice in Co Kerry with both large and small animals, with a keen interest in wildlife and exotic species. He also has experience working in zoological parks in the UK and volunteers his time at weekends, helping wildlife rescues treat sick and injured wildlife.

IWDG first met Yasin at the Fota Native Species Weekend in 2024, when he offered his help and joined our stranding network. Since then, he has helped in so many ways—from being at the end of the phone reviewing videos and cases when difficult decisions need to be made about a live-stranded animal, to assisting with post-mortems and attending live strandings in his professional capacity.

In his new role, Yasin will help us maintain and develop our protocols and build on IWDG’s veterinary outreach, while continuing to support live-stranding response and IWDG’s DDRIP.

Yasin takes over from veterinarian Sloan Massie, who is now undertaking her pathology residency in Canada. A big thank you to Sloan for her contribution as our previous Welfare Officer, and we wish her all the best with her residency!

It’s an exciting time for IWDG’s live-stranding response. Over the past few years, we’ve expanded our live-stranding responder training, delivered veterinary CVE courses, established a veterinary learning network and made more emergency rescue equipment available around the country for our volunteers to use. Having Yasin on board as our Veterinary & Welfare Officer is the cherry on the cake!

Thank you, Yasin, for all your help and enthusiasm. We’re delighted to welcome you to this new role!

Distinguished Contributor Award: Live Stranding ResponseCongratulations to Louise and Tabitha Overy! 🎉This year we intro...
12/10/2026

Distinguished Contributor Award: Live Stranding Response

Congratulations to Louise and Tabitha Overy! 🎉

This year we introduced a new Distinguished Contributor Award for Live Stranding Response, recognising the dedication of the many trained responders who answer the call when a live stranding occurs.

Our inaugural award was presented to sisters Louise and Tabitha Overy of Clahane County Kerry, for their incredible commitment to live stranding response over almost two decades.

Live strandings can be unpredictable, physically and emotionally demanding, and heartbreaking. Yet Louise and Tabitha have continued to respond in rain, hail or shine, day or night, whenever they can.

Accepting the award, Tabitha highlighted that live stranding response is a team effort, and thanked the IWDG team for the equipment, training and support provided to responders.

We are incredibly grateful to Louise and Tabitha for the countless hours they have given to helping stranded animals.

Congratulations to you both, and thank you for everything you do!

Distinguished Contributor Award: StrandingsCongratulations to Rosemary Hill! 🎉Our Distinguished Contributor Award for St...
12/10/2026

Distinguished Contributor Award: Strandings

Congratulations to Rosemary Hill! 🎉

Our Distinguished Contributor Award for Strandings was presented this year to Rosemary Hill, in recognition of her longstanding commitment to IWDG's stranding scheme.

Rosemary has been a familiar name throughout the IWDG's historical stranding records and is always willing to respond when a stranded animal is reported. Her years of dedication have contributed greatly to the value of the stranding scheme, particularly in County Kerry, a hotspot for strandings. The data she has collected has also helped document important evidence, including signs of bycatch.

Rosemary's commitment, enthusiasm and willingness to help have made a lasting contribution to IWDG.

Thank you, Rosemary, and congratulations!

Distinguished Contributor Award: SightingsCongratulations to Maureen Jackson! 🎉At our 2026 AGM, we were delighted to pre...
12/10/2026

Distinguished Contributor Award: Sightings

Congratulations to Maureen Jackson! 🎉

At our 2026 AGM, we were delighted to present our Distinguished Contributor Award for Sightings to Maureen Jackson.

Maureen first became involved with IWDG through our residential weekend courses and, despite having no previous background in cetacean observation, quickly developed her skills and knowledge. Since then, she has completed IWDG trainings, taken up regular effort watches at Knockadoon Head in East Cork, and become a valued member of the Cork local group.

Maureen's enthusiasm for learning, willingness to develop new skills and commitment to contributing to our sightings network make her a very deserving recipient.

Congratulations, Maureen, and thank you for your continued dedication to IWDG and our sightings scheme.

At a time when a decision to uphold the 6nml ban on sprat fishing is being decided.
11/10/2026

At a time when a decision to uphold the 6nml ban on sprat fishing is being decided.

An adult True's beaked whale and her calf live stranded near Camp, Co. Kerry, on the evening of 28 September. A walker f...
01/10/2026

An adult True's beaked whale and her calf live stranded near Camp, Co. Kerry, on the evening of 28 September. A walker first spotted them alive at the shoreline near high tide and raised the alert locally. People from the community came together and tried to help the whales back into the water, but sadly both died a short time later.

Beaked whales spend their lives in deep water around the continental shelf and further offshore, diving to depths of 1,000–2,000 metres in search of food. The shallow waters of Tralee Bay are far from their usual feeding habitat. Both animals appeared to be in good body condition, and at this time we do not know why they stranded.

Read the full story here: https://iwdg.ie/beaked-whale-mother-and-calf-stranding-near-camp-kerry/

📸: Seamus O'Shea

Whale DeliveryThe National Museum of Ireland (Natural History) took delivery of two rare whale skeletons on Friday (Acce...
29/09/2026

Whale Delivery

The National Museum of Ireland (Natural History) took delivery of two rare whale skeletons on Friday (Accession Code NE-2026_311). Both recorded and documented by the IWDG Stranding Scheme the first ever narwhal recorded in Ireland washed up on the Inishowen Peninsular, Co Donegal in November 2025 and a rare Gervais beaked whale washed up in Liscannor, Co Clare in May 2026.

The IWDG were asked by the Natural History Museum to preserve their skeletons. This involves flensing as much of the blubber, muscle and organs as possible and soaking the remains in a bath of water (cold maceration) for many months. The water needs to be changed two or three times during the decomposition process.

“It is a long and often smelly process” said Dr Simon Berrow CEO of the IWDG who has prepared a number of skeletons for the museum including in 2022 Ireland’s first dwarf s***m whale. “the first water change is the worse and this year coincided with the very hot spell we had, which only added to the heightened aroma”.

Once prepared the skeletons are quite light and don’t take up much room. Indeed, the entire narwhal skeleton fit into a fertiliser bag. The skeletons were handed over to Curator of Aquatic Zoology in the museum, Dr Amy Geraghty, who will face the challenging task of rebuilding each skeleton. There are no quick guides to assembling a narwhal or Gervais beaked whale, but Amy and her team have worked on a range of mammalian species, which once rendered down to their skeleton are all quite similar.

Hopefully in time the skeletons might go on public display once the popular “Dead Zoo” is back open but either way these skeletons will be preserved for future generations and available to study by biologists throughout the world.

Image shows Simon Berrow arriving at the NMI (NHM) in Beggars Bush handing over the skeletons to Dr Amy Geraghty

🐋 Whale-watching at Black Head 💚Last week, Cian Ó Nialáin of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group led a whale-watch for Bur...
28/09/2026

🐋 Whale-watching at Black Head 💚

Last week, Cian Ó Nialáin of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group led a whale-watch for Burrenbeo Trust members at Black Head.

We were blessed with a gorgeous day, and plenty of tea, biscuits, and baked goodies!

The water was a little too choppy for an ideal watch, but the views were beautiful and the chats even better. Cian also equipped us with the knowledge and confidence to come back and give it another go in the future.

If you'd like to become a member, support our work, and enjoy year-round walks and talks like this, consider signing up here:

burrenbeo.com/support-us/become-a-member/

25/09/2026

Despite being confined to the harbour, Floating Classroom 2026 has been an excellent outreach event.

Communites on Donegal's southern coast have a vibrant marine heritage, most notably fishing. IWDG and its volunteer members were extremely proud to engage with young people, and highlight how they can become advocates for the wildlife with which they share the sea. Many students already had a great deal of experience with whales and dolphins, including sightings at sea and even rescuing a stranded dolphin!

Many thanks to St. Catherine's Killybegs, Donegal AVS, Magh Ene College Bundoran, Coláiste na Carraige and Coláiste Cholmchille Ballyshannon for welcoming us to their classrooms. Huge thanks to 's, .ie and indeed for their support and to and for funding the initiative.

📸: Darren O'Sullivan

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