KILRUSH based sailing vessel Celtic Mist will be retired this year, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) have confirmed.
2026 will be the final season of the IWDG’s dedicated research vessel. The 17-metre yacht has surveyed more than 100,000 km of Irish inshore and offshore waters since 2012.
Formerly owned by ex Taoiseach, Charles Haughey (FF), the yacht was donated to the IWDG by his family in 2011.
Having been based in the Grand Canal Basin in Dublin for ten years, Celtic Mist has been stationed in Kilrush for half a decade. The vessel undertakes systematic visual surveys for whales, dolphins, porpoises and wider marine wildlife around the Irish coast, contributing essential long-term data for marine conservation, research and policy.
Celtic Mist has circumnavigated the island of Ireland on five occasions, sailed to the Isle of Man and the Inner Hebrides, Scotland twice to connect with like-minded groups in the UK. In 2018 she embarked on a seven-week expedition to Iceland where she rounded the famous Hornstrandir, Iceland’s most northernmost peninsula, entering into Arctic waters in search of humpback whales.
Last year, the Celtic Mist completed a 3,300 km survey with Fair Seas as part of the campaign for Marine Protected Area (MPA) legislation to protect, conserve and restore Ireland’s marine environment. Over 11 weeks, volunteer skippers and crew recorded more than 2,000 individuals of eight species of whale and dolphins.
IWDG Celtic Mist Officer, Andrew Shine said, “We’re sad to see the end of the Celtic Mist’s journey with the IWDG. Our members have had an incredible experience over the last 14 years living, sailing and surveying along Ireland’s stunning coastline. They have encountered some of the most spectacular marine wildlife in the northeast Atlantic and that would not have been possible without the Celtic Mist and the generosity of the Haughey family. This wonderful vessel is now 50 years old and the rising cost of maintenance and challenges in finding willing and experienced volunteers to skipper and crew her means that 2026 will be her last year with us”.
Eva Lambert, IWDG Marine Advocacy and Policy Officer commented, “Celtic Mist is about far more than numbers and maps. Year after year, volunteers give their time, energy and skills to Celtic Mist, often in challenging conditions. It’s about people working together at sea, learning from the wildlife around them, and turning those experiences into data that genuinely helps protect the places that matter most for whales and dolphins, including areas now being considered for Marine Protected Areas”.
Since 2023, Celtic Mist has completed thirty weeks of research surveys on behalf of Fair Seas. Dr Dónal Griffin, Fair Seas Campaign Coordinator stated, “I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to spend two weeks on board the Celtic Mist over the last few years. There is something really special about living on board for a week, learning about sailing, maritime heritage and marine ecology. While the list of recorded species sightings was long, I must admit it was the people on board that impressed me most. Even the skipper and first mate charged with the crew’s safety and the safe operation of the boat itself were volunteering their time, and had been doing so for decades. The social and ecological benefit of people volunteering along our coast is something I know will continue long after the Celtic Mist retires this year”.
