After an absence from Ireland of 100 years, the first white-tailed sea eagles arrived back yesterday.
However, their first flight here, to Kerry airport at Farranfore, was aboard an Air France-CityJet-sponsored flight direct from Trondheim, Norway, where they have been taken from the wild.
Their arrival was not greeted with total enthusiasm; more than 100 farmers protested outside the airport because they had not been consulted about the birds, which could prey on their stock.
The 15 eaglets, or eagle chicks, range in age from four to nine weeks and were "evenly balanced" as far as gender was concerned, according to project co-ordinator Dr Allan Mee.
Dr Mee accompanied the eagles from Norway along with National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) district conservation officer Frank McMahon.
The eaglets travelled to Kerry in some style, in the first-class cabin each in their own special covered cage. However, there was no in-flight catering, Dr Mee admitted. Their last meal - solely of fish - was on Sunday night, he said. Each bird had been checked by a vet in Norway before boarding the plane.
In about five weeks the first of the eaglets will be released into Killarney National Park, Dr Mee said. From there it is hoped they will move quickly to their natural habitat - the coast.
In the meantime they will be placed three each in large cages in the park and will have minimum contact with carers to prepare them for the wild. The next five years will see similar numbers of eaglets arrive in Kerry.
Dr Mee displayed an eight- week-old female for the cameras. About the size of a well-fed turkey, the all-black bird will develop its distinctive white-tipped feathers in about five years.
Dr Mee kept a firm grip on the giant yellow talons, but allowed the hooked beak to nibble away at his finger.
Mayor of Killarney Sheila Casey greeted the arrivals, along with Killarney town clerk Michael O'Leary and several tourism representatives and representatives of the NPWS.
The town council and local tourism bodies have heavily sponsored the project, believing it will attract extra visitors to Killarney.
The large media presence yesterday included a television crew from Norway's state broadcaster, NRK.
Eamonn Meskell, regional manager with the NPWS, said: "Apart from the cultural benefits of having eagles back in Kerry, this project will help to fulfil part of Ireland's commitment to maintain and enhance our native wildlife under the obligations of the UN convention on biological diversity."
Birds of prey were especially scarce here, having been hunted to extinction, he said.
Outside the airport more than 100 farmers gathered to voice their concerns at the project and the fact their concerns had not been addressed.
Neilie O'Leary, national chairman of the IFA hill farming committee, had just returned from a fact-finding visit to the Isle of Mull in Scotland where the eagles had been successfully reintroduced from Norway.
He was "very disappointed with the National Parks and Wildlife Service here" because it had not consulted properly with farmers and had not included them in its management scheme.
In Scotland, farmers were part of the management and were receiving funding of about £2,000, Mr O'Leary added. He had no doubt the eagles would take lambs.
One farmer to whom he spoke on Mull had lost 28 lambs out of a flock of 130 ewes and this was an island where there were no foxes, he said.
Mr O'Leary said the NPWS must enter into discussions on a management strategy for the sea eagle involving farmers in the surrounding area. The sea eagle scheme, Mr O'Leary said, applied to all farmers on the Isle of Mull and he called for a similar scheme in south Kerry and west Cork