A pilot whale that had been stranded on Inch Beach in Co Kerry has been safely returned to sea.
The whale weighed three tonnes and was fifteen feet long according to Kevin Flannery, Department of the Marine officer from Dingle.
Mr Flannery was called to the scene this morning when the whale was discovered ashore.
He said that with the aid of local people the whale was kept alive by spraying it with water and covering it.
When the tide rose this afternoon the special pontoon, brought in from Kilrush by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, was used to re-float the whale and tow it out to sea.
