Arctic seal makes another Irish visit

A bearded seal has re-appeared in Courtmacsherry Bay and yet again it was the O’Driscolls, farmers at Kilbrittan who were the first to see the big, white animal hauled up on a sandbank.

When Willie O’Driscoll first noticed it “about four years ago”, he little realised that it was a bearded seal and that he was the first human to see a member of this Arctic species so far — 5,700km — south of its usual habitat.

Michael and William O’Driscoll have seen it regularly over the past week.