Warnings issued as Dusty, a wild bottlenose dolphin, attacks swimmers off Doolin Pier in Clare.
A female bottlenose dolphin named Dusty by locals, has lived off the west coast of Ireland for a number of years and in recent times has made Doolin in County Clare her home.
Over the summer there have been four incidents where Dusty has injured swimmers. In the most recent case, Valerie Ryan a self employed osteopath was charged at by the dolphin as she left the water after a swim.
The dolphin struck Valerie Ryan leaving her with eight spinal fractures, two fractured ribs and slight damage to her lung. She is critical of the lack of large danger signs at Doolin prior to her attack,
I wouldn't have gotten in if I had known that she was highly aggressive.
Since the incident, Clare County Council has erected permanent warning signs at the location. Valerie Ryan says she would not have got into the water if she had known the dolphin was aggressive.
Clare County Council Water Safety Officer Liam Griffin thinks that once there are signs and informed lifeguards, there is little more that can be done. People have to be responsible for their own personal safety and for the safety of their children,
When they see this dolphin in the water, this dolphin is a wild animal and people should take serious account of that.
The attack on Valerie Ryan brings the total number of swimmers attacked by Dusty to seven over the past number of years. As the dolphin is a protected species Clare County Council say there is little that can be done,
Other than to appeal to people not to enter the water.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 27 August 2013. The reporter is Tomás O Mainnín.
