Large fishing boats are to be banned from trawling within six nautical miles of the Irish coast.

From this time of year of onwards, if you see people standing on headlands and peering out to sea through binoculars, it’s probable they’re trying to spot whales, sharks or dolphins. One of the biggest creatures in the ocean, the harmless basking shark, is an annual visitor, writes Donal Hickey.

Spring was late this year, migrant birds being slow to arrive. Things were different at sea; whales and basking sharks turned up earlier than usual, writes Richard Collins.