A WHALE WHICH was spotted in Dublin’s Liffey river during the week has washed up on Dollymount beach. 

Dublin Port workers found the whale this week, close to where it was first spotted on Wednesday, near the opening to Dublin Bay.

It was originally thought to be a minke whale but the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) later stated that it was a juvenile fin whale. 

A statement on the IWDG’s Facebook page this afternoon said the whale which was spotted today was most likely the same whale spotted in Dublin Bay earlier this week. 

“The whale washed up on Dollymount strand today is almost definitely the same whale that died in Dublin Port and was towed out to sea,” it said. 

“The IWDG will take samples for genetics and to look at contaminant burdens but to try and establish cause of death would be a large undertaking and beyond the resources of a wildlife NGO. It’s a sad end to this story but it never looked like it would end well.”

On Friday, the IWDG issued a statement which said it was not surprising that the whale had died after swimming into such shallow waters near Dublin Port. 

“Given the circumstances surrounding this fin whale, the outcome although saddening was the most likely outcome and it was in all probability doomed long before it entered Dublin Bay and the port,” it said.