A DOLPHIN HAS been spotted swimming in Dublin’s River Liffey.

Members of the public first spotted the dolphin swimming in the river at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay between the Sean O’Casey and Samuel Beckett bridges at around 9am this morning.

The animal remained in the river for a number of hours, with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group confirming it as a short-beaked common dolphin this afternoon.

The group also said the dolphin’s appearance was not a “run of the mill sighting”, but said that footage of the animal suggested it was swimming strongly, although it did not know why it was in the area.

“If this dolphin is as … [footage] suggests in good health and was able to swim upriver towards the city centre, then it should be able to swim downriver on its own steam,” the IWDG said.

The group added that its marine mammal ecologist Clowie Russell was in the area to monitor the situation and said that it was still swimming strongly.

With additional reporting from Nicky Ryan.