Dolphin and a pilot whale both washed up on separate beaches in Wexford

Sarah Slater

A dolphin and a pilot whale both washed up on separate beaches in Co Wexford.

The dead dolphin was found by a man out walking on the beach in the popular seas-side town of Courtown, Co Wexford.

A pilot whale also washed up in Fethard-on-Sea further down the coastline.

The latest mammal discoveries follow the discovery by Swiss tourists last week of a rare shark washed up in the same county in what scientists understand is the first official record of the species in Irish waters.

The 14-foot long smalltooth sand tiger (Odontaspis ferox) normally lives in sea depths of 110 m and was at the upper end of its size limits according to Trinity College scientists.

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin said they were surprised to see it in Wexford, as it was thought to be distributed only as far north as the Bay of Biscay in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

Shark biologist Dr Nicholas Payne, an assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Natural Sciences, was notified of the stranding 10 days ago.

Dr Payne said the size of the shark was "amazing” Dr Payne. Scientists took a number of samples in a bid to ascertain the shark’s cause of death.