Populations of humpback whales, previously devastated by whaling, making a comeback

It is now not unusual to see humpback whales on whale-watching trips off the south and west coast here. A new book, Wake of the Whale, documents the history of whaling in Ireland

Humpback whale sighted off the west Cork coast. Picture: atlanticwhaleandwildlifetours.com

Perched between continental Europe and the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean, whales have always, on occasion, washed up on western shores. Each stranded whale provided welcome resources for coastal communities. The meat was rich, the blubber provided fat reserves, and enormous bones were made use of too. Accounts of such strandings date from the eighth century and continue through medieval times.

In the 16th century, commercial whaling, using a harpoon and sailing boats, began to take off, in tandem with the rise of colonialism and capitalism. Whales were a source of copious quantities of oil, as much as 20 tonnes could be rendered from their blubber of just one large whale. Whale oil was used to fuel lamps, before the days of petroleum or electricity, and as a mechanical lubricant for industrial manufacturing, also on the rise. Baleen, the strong yet pliable apparatus that Baleen whales use to filter tiny creatures from the water, was used to make corsets, among other things.