Meet Cork's latest tourists

Shoppers and lunch-goers in Cork city centre were treated to a rare sight today as a small pod of three dolphins made their way up the river Lee.

The trio - identified as common dolphins - entertained onlookers in the river's south channel, in front of the newly-constructed Cork School of Music building.

The close encounter follows another headline-making dolphin incident yesterday when a pod of up to 20 of the aquatic mammals swam with holidaymakers at a beach close to the west Cork coastal village of Crookhaven.

Today's visitors are however not the first cetaceans to have checked out the sights of Cork close-up, as Leesiders still vividly recall the June 2001 excursion up the river of three killer whales.

"It's certainly an unusual occurrence but it is not without precedent," said Pádraig Whooley of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), who said that the reasons for marine mammals entering a city environment were largely unknown.

"They may have been over-zealous in their hunting and pursued fish up the river, in which case we would hope that they will safely make their way back to open water again," he said.

"However it can be the case that whales and dolphins will follow a sick member of the pod, or may have had their echo-location abilities confused for some reason, in which case the outcome may not be so positive," he added.

"However that is purely speculative at the moment."

*5pm update: Dolphin day-trippers last seen catching a lift with the dropping tide, back out to sea.*