A ferry packed with passengers had a bizarre stand-off with a huge basking shark.
The Tory Island ferry docks in the harbour.
The ocean giant came face-to-face with the Tory Island ferry off the coast of West Donegal and refused to budge.
The boat had to cut off its engines as it made its way out of Tory Island harbour on its way to Magheroarty Pier.
The shark, which measured up to 5 metres long, stubbornly refused to swim out of the ferry’s way.
The basking shark had been swimming around the harbour for up to two hours before the encounter.
The ferry was full of day-trippers to the remote island and other islanders on their way out to the mainland.
A basking shark
Among the passengers on board the ferry was the King of Tory Island, Patsy Dan Rodgers.
King Patsy said “It was a huge creature and very stubborn. It just refused to get out of our way.
“It was great for the children because they got to see the shark up very closely.
“It eventually gave in and swam away but it certainly took its time.”
Hundreds of the creatures, which survive on microscopic plankton, have arrived in Irish waters with many off the coast of Donegal.
Emmett Johnston, who runs the Basking Sharks Study project said it is the greatest number of sharks in Irish waters since 2010.
It has been the perfect year to set up the Basking Shark Summer Camp which saw a group of secondary school pupils get up close and personal with the creatures.
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