The saga of Belmullet's seven dolphins has ended - for the present - on a happy note. Three of the north Mayo town's unusual visitors have opted to stay in a pool near the town pier, where their presence entertains the townspeople, tourists and children. The other four have opted - with some help from their Mayo friends - for the high seas.
After making their home in the pool a fortnight ago, four of them became adventurous and at high tide ventured up a nearby channel in search of food. When the tide went out two hours later the dolphins were left - almost literally - high and dry on Wednesday night. The noise and distress were amazing, according to one witness, as the one-ton mammals tried to free themselves, and it brought people from the town to see what was happening.
"The dolphins literally went crazy when they discovered they were trapped in a two-foot pool of water. You could hear them screaming and hear their heads banging off each other as they thrashed around in panic like sharks," said Mr Gary Bohan of the Belmullet sub-aqua club.
But the combined efforts of members of the club, Belmullet Fire Brigade and several local people helped to save them from being beached close to the entrance to Blacksod Bay.
The situation was an extremely dangerous one at the time, said Mr Bohan; it was sheer good fortune that rescuers were on the spot so soon.
A barrier of pallets fashioned by the rescue party was used like a moving wall to flush the four dolphins out of the shallow waters in the direction of the open sea.
The three remaining in the pool - which is a dolphin-friendly environment provided they do not go exploring - were happily frolicking as usual all day yesterday, as they continued to prove a major tourism attraction. It was expected that at high tide last night there might be more movement within the dolphin group, with either the four larger mammals which swam out to sea returning to join the three younger ones in the pool, or vice-versa. However, it did not happen and, according to Mr Bohan, the dolphin septet always constituted two separate family groups and therefore no reunion attempt was likely to occur.
"We still have a couple of Flippers and our own Fungi in the area and we don't mind if they stay here permanently. They are perfectly safe here but we'll be keeping an eye on them because the waters are tidal. If they do decide to leave eventually, our biggest concern will be that they leave in safety," he said.