{"id":44817,"date":"2025-09-26T15:07:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T15:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/44817\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T15:07:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T15:07:08","slug":"new-lease-of-life-proposed-for-beached-whale-haunting-west-waterford-council-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/44817\/","title":{"rendered":"New lease of life proposed for beached whale haunting West Waterford council – News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new lease of life has been suggested for the Clonea Beach whale that has haunted Waterford City and County Council since January.<\/p>\n

The disposal of the whale has been raised at almost every sitting of the Dungarvan-Lismore District Council since the animal became beached at the start of the year, with the council saying they cannot get access with the machines.<\/p>\n

And the September meeting was no different, but an alternative plan has been floated.<\/p>\n

Councillor Joe O\u2019Riordan told his colleagues and council officials that he would like to see the fin whale on display.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly one mammal bigger has ever existed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I just think it\u2019s a fantastic thing to have near the quay or beside the castle in that green area to have this magnificent mammal which is just a stone\u2019s throw away from us, their breeding grounds and feeding grounds,\u201d said Cllr O\u2019Riordan.<\/p>\n

\"PuertoPuerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura in Spain – November 24 2023: Fin whale skeleton displayed on a jetty by the Atlantic Ocean. iStock.<\/p>\n

Cllr O\u2019Riordan said he was approached by a man with a plan.<\/p>\n

The carcass would be stripped and the bones removed from the beach.<\/p>\n

The skeleton would then be bleached and put back together.<\/p>\n

Cllr O\u2019Riordan said the individual wants to give the whale to the town as a display piece, and there would be very little cost to the council.<\/p>\n

And the landowner where the carcass currently lies is on board.<\/p>\n

\"LighthouseLighthouse on Morro Jable Beach \/ Matorral Beach on the Jandia peninsula, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain. iStock.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I basically wanted to know what the general kind of thinking about it. Is it feasible,\u201d said Cllr O\u2019Riordan.<\/p>\n

Cllr Thomas Phelan said he supported the idea.<\/p>\n

But he would also like the council to consult with Cork County Council on how they were disposing of the large whale washed up recently.<\/p>\n

The disposal of the whale falls under the roads department.<\/p>\n

\"SkeletonSkeleton of a big Sperm Whale. Photo taken in Jandia Playa, Canary Island Fuerteventura, Spain. iStock<\/p>\n

Director of Roads Gabriel Hynes said that he has little knowledge of the process of preparing the whale for display, but said he would take guidance on the matter.<\/p>\n

But he said that outside of that suggestion, the council\u2019s position on disposing of the carcass had not changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe location of the whale when it becomes beached determines the options you have. In relation to Clonea, access is very poor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It wasn\u2019t possible for us to remove it,\u201d said Mr Hynes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new lease of life has been suggested for the Clonea Beach whale that has haunted Waterford City…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[61,60,82,263],"class_list":["post-44817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}