© Aoife Foley/Irish Whale and Dolphin Group
Rescuers in Mayo have described an incident that saw three dolphins saved after becoming stranded on the coast of Mayo.
At the end of last month, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) was called by a local resident and marine biologist Machiel Oudejans who could see the dolphins from his house on the Mullet Peninsula.
Arriving at the scene, the team set about helping the animals which had become stranded in ankle deep water.
"It is a lot more common than people think for something like this to happen. There are a lot of strandings, especially off the east coast," Aoife Foley, an IWDG member who attended the scene told TheJournal.ie.
Along with the help of a local man, the team were able to move the animals back out to deeper waters.
Out of the five dolphins, one appeared to be in worse health than the others.
When the beach was checked a short time later none of the five had made their way back onto the shore.
Comment: See also: Vicious cat leaves residents scared to go outside in Holloway, UK