and our sponsors:
@atu-ie.bsky.social, Customized Animal Tracking Solutions (CATS), Wildlife Computers, @lotektelemetry.bsky.social, @innovasea.com,
@fairseas.ie, @heritagecouncil.ie and Mayo County Council.

We’d like to thank our co-hosts:
@npwsireland.bsky.social and The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group...

There was no better or more authentic way to close out the whole weekend than by toe tapping along to The Achill Sound and listening to accounts of life on Achill.

To close off the day we had a very special performance by The Achill Sound that brought the experiences of the people of Achill together with music and stunning visuals to form a unique storytelling experience.

Of course it wasn't all for the adults, Gerry Daly hosted a read and draw along for all the young budding marine biologists. We had a great turn out to Gerrys event, with some incredible art work.

Throughout the day Tom Meskal had his art installation up in Gieltys cafe, alongside this we had screenings of “Secrets of the basking shark” by Swimming heads productions and Toms “Basking”.

This was an incredible opportunity to take in the stunning views of the island while giving our guests the chance to see these key locations of the basking shark fishery for themselves.

Island bus tours hosted jointly by Achill island seascapes and outdoor achill brought us to the heart of the action, Keem bay and then onto Purteen harbour.

The second talk of the day was hosted by the Ocean Literacy Network, bringing us all back to our “why”. After a weekend of hearing about all the research being done on this incredible species it was very fitting talk reminding us that our connection to the ocean runs deeply.

The day started with an incredible talk from Brian McNeil “The last basking shark fisherman”, where he recounted his role in the basking shark fishery up until its end in 1984 and how the fishery shaped Achill.

as well as our sponsors:

@atu-ie.bsky.social, Customized Animal Tracking Solutions (CATS), Wildlife Computers, @lotektelemetry.bsky.social, @innovasea.com, @fairseas.ie, @heritagecouncil.ie and Mayo County Council.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh go leir

We’d like to thank our co-hosts: @npwsireland.bsky.social and The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group

Video by @swimminghead.co.uk

Thank you to The @thefsbi.bsky.social for funding the filming of this video.

Thank you to Marcus Hogan and Simon Berrow for the basking shark footage.

We hope he gets to show off his shark knowledge every time he wears it!