Celtic Mist on whale of a voyage

Charlie Haughey’s renovated yacht will take to the seas next weekend in a two-month cruise around Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of Ireland’s waters being declared a whale and dolphin sanctuary.

Celtic Mist, the 16m ketch which was previously owned by the late former Taoiseach before being renovated by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), sets sail from Fenit, Co, Kerry next Saturday, from where it will travel clockwise around the island of Ireland until the end of July.

The IWDG said the sanctuary designation was a “seminal moment” in the history of whale and dolphin conversation, as up to then there had been very little awareness of the existence of cetaceans off Ireland’s coast.

In a statement, the IWDG said: “The Sanctuary Declaration helped enormously to raise awareness and subsequent government action, including providing funding, has furthered our knowledge and better understanding of their ecology and conversation status.”

The IWDG also said organisers of the Celitc Mist cruise intend to take in as many festivals and maritime events as possible.

Track the position of the vessel on www.iwdg.ie.