Whale Dead in Courtmacsherry

JP Liz

A 18m (60') fin whale has died after it became beached at Courtmacsherry, Co Cork, this morning.
Rescue efforts got underway this morning after the whale beached itself in the harbour.
The rescue efforts were led by the Courtmacsherry Lifeboat, who, this morning, said that time was against them because the tide was going out.

RIP

dh0661

I heard about this on radio 1 this morning. Some guy from Courtmacsherry life boat was asking for help from the whale and dolphin watch association, or whatever they are called.
I am sorry to hear that all did not go well.

towel401

so are they going to blow it up now?

deRanged

all the norwegian guy in my office said when he saw it in the echo was "Lunch".

thecurlyone

Ya it was big, there was actually so many
people down there that a fish and chip van
pulled up and was open for business.
I was appalled , impressed, disgusted and amused all at once.
this is it

dh0661

thecurlyone wrote: »

Ya it was big, there was actually so many
people down there that a fish and chip van
pulled up and was open for business.
I was appalled , impressed, disgusted and amused all at once.
this is it

Nice first post there - thanks

shakeydude

Is the whale still there? What are they going to do with it?

deRanged

the echo said they had a rendering plant to take it.

Chad ghostal

this website says they're doing a 'Gross post-mortem' today... http://www.iwdg.ie/article.asp?id=2204 ..not sure what that is, could anybody help out ? anything like an autopsy ? probably not suitable for kids if so..
[edit] ok wikipedia tells me they're the same thing...[/edit]

towel401

mmm... lovely smell o' fish

String

Man I didnt think it would be that big. That picture of the eye is really sad tbh.

BMurr

I went down there today with my 6 and 4 years old children. After some deliberation deciding that it was the right thing to do, that dead animals are as natural a part of life as lamb chops at the supermarket. They were fascinated about the whole thing, poked at the skin, looked to see where the eye is etc. Lots of people there too with their children. When approaching from the distance it had a surreal quality to it with a large crowd of people gathered in the middle of the wide open mudflat, almost as if gathered in some act of worship.Downwind the smell of the carcass was a bit strong but not stomach churning. The traffic jam afterwards was a bit stupid with people just sitting in cars on wrong side of road in their cars expecting eceryone else to figure out the mess they had created, a one way system might have been a good idea using local roads, gardai on the scene but no sign of any order to the traffic although in fairness I think the level of interest might have been unexpected.

towel401

holy shiat i never expected to see an autopsy involving a digger. lol

what happens to the whale meat? does it get sold at the fish monger or anything?

shakeydude

I went down myself today. It was surreal to see the crowds down there in quiet almost homage to such a magnificent mammal, to see the size of its organs compared to us was very humbling. Great experience:):):)

Dob74

Was there at 5 today, is almost gone. Probably will be gone by tomorrow. There was no cops around to control traffic:(.

BMurr

towel401 wrote: »

holy shiat i never expected to see an autopsy involving a digger. lol

what happens to the whale meat? does it get sold at the fish monger or anything?

Meat from Whales and Dolphins and other large predatory sea animals have a high accumulation of the toxic substances which we dump in the sea such as heavy metals,PCB's and dioxins. I think that anyone willing to eat the stuff must be either mad, stupid or Japanese.

JP Liz

how exactly are they getting rid of it - cutting it up

the traffic is hell down there cars parked at both sides yet there is room - i feel sorry for the locals

shakeydude

The traffic situation was a joke. The Guards should have known that there would be alot of interest at the weekend. I was directed by one Guard to go up the hill and I was thinking that there is some system in place, when I got down by the water I saw that it was orgainsed chaos, madness

duracell

anyone know if whale will was buried yesterday, or is there something to see tooday

byhookorbycrook

apparently there is a row going on between two local parished over who gets the jawbone!!

JP Liz

Source The Examiner

Efforts were underway last night to broker a deal between two villages fighting over the Courtmacsherry whale which technically belongs to John Gormley.

On Saturday afternoon, when two lifeboat men from Courtmacsherry, approached with a chainsaw the body of the Fin whale that had died in Courtmacsherry Bay last Thursday, a group of Kilbrittain residents stepped in their way and told them they were claiming the carcass for their village.

Two excavators stood by ready to excavate a pit in which to bury the 66-foot long, 50-tonne whale as a crowd of more than 100 onlookers watched.

According to Dan O’Dwyer, one of the lifeboat men, it was the fear that it would be interred for evermore that prompted him and his colleague, Michael Cox, to act.

He pointed out that a "whale arch" created from the massive jawbones would be an appropriate enhancement to the seaside village of Courtmacsherry, with its pier, trawlers and fishing boats.

On Friday, an attempt was made to drag the whale towards the high water mark but the JCBs, which looked like toys beside the carcass, failed to move it an inch and only succeeded in pulling off its tail.

Kevin Murphy, a Bandon councillor, said the Kilbrittain residents had asked Dan Crowley, the Cork County Council veterinarian attending the scene, if the carcass might be stripped and the flesh removed for disposal leaving the skeleton to be displayed, after cleaning, as a marine artifact.

This course had been agreed.

Guidelines state that "if persons in the zone where the carcass lies proposes acceptable management regimes, these will be considered and permitted provided there are no public health implications".

Meanwhile, residents of Courtmacsherry feel that their village is the natural home for whale artifacts.

They say that the animal beached itself in Courtmacsherry Bay, not Kilbrittain Creek, a small river.

They point out that Kilbrittain is over a kilometre inland, has no boats, fishermen or other connections with the bay, and that the whale jaws, displayed there, might as well be displayed in Tipperary.

"The jaws, mounted as a whale arch in the village, with a plaque telling the story, would make a very appropriate monument to Courtmacsherry’s maritime history and a memorial to this unique event," John Young, chairman of the Courtmacsherry development committee said.

The Kilbrittain contention is that Courtmacsherry already has enough attractions and, in these recessionary time, their poor village needs to attract all the tourism it can.

Technically, the animal belongs to Environment Minister John Gormley.

As the rival claims exercise residents north and south of the bay, local wags compare the debate to The War of the Buttons.

Apparently, an attempt was made on Saturday night under cover of darkness to steal the jaws but their bulk proved too much for the perpetrators.

BlindedByGInge

Apperently 3 tractors and 2 diggers were trying to pull it out, but most of their chains snapped before the broke off it's tail. 6 inches or something like that was all they moved it. Also Micheal Martin, who has a holiday home in Courtmac is trying to get on to John Gormley, to try and get him to give the jawbone to Courtmac, on behalf of the locals. Wish I had gone to see it now:(

thecurlyone

some lady came from America sponsored by National geographic. I heard she was meant to be doing an autopsy. When she arrived she just hopped right into the belly and emerged extremely red. dot want to be morbid, but with the size of the whale it was a bit reminiscent of that movie where the guy gets shrunk and injected into people in a vessel.

RonMexico

Jesus lads I read about the row over the jawbone today and pissed myself - it sounds like an episode of Father Ted.

Svenolsen

towel401 wrote: »

mmm... lovely smell o' fish

It's a Mammal.

The locals are having a pitched battle over it.

"The Battle of Courtmacsharry Bay" :

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/villagers-in-row-over-ownership-of-whale-carcass-1607151.html

.

Svenolsen

poppysquirrel wrote: »

And people can mock and jeer

Perish the thought.

My solution is simple.

Get the best shot from either village to stand back to back at the middle of the carcass.

Each walks the their end of the whale,turns and shoots.

Whichever village's champion survives gets the bones.
Just like this:

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/iss/archives/rag/image/duel.jpg

.

poppysquirrel

If you're not going to come on and say something that isn't childish rubbish, stay the hell out of the conversation and take a look at the kiddies discussion threads.

Svenolsen

poppysquirrel wrote: »

It doesn't say much for the Courtmacsherry case when their means of getting the remains was by sneaking across, late in the dark night to unlawfully cut the poor animals head off with a chainsaw. So, if this was ok, why did they wait and sneak across in the dark of night? (during which, Kilbrittain people were still working at the scene)

The chainsaws in Courtmacsherry must have silencers fitted.
Shhh!


.

poppysquirrel

You obviously have NO idea where this place is

Svenolsen

poppysquirrel wrote: »

You obviously have NO idea where this place is

Correct.
You must be the only person in the world not to see the funny side of this great sea-battle,"The Battle of the Bones", Poppysquirrel.

.

Geansai

poppysquirrel wrote: »

Its not as simple as people are making out. This whale has attracted thousands of people into the area since Thursday morning, and to this very minute there is still traffice congestion and curios onlookers descending on the area.
The Whale can only be reached from Kilbrittain. Courtmacsherry, while known for its lifeboat, is merely a village on the side of a channel, with 1 beach. Kilbrittain ss surrounded by beaches.
The whales lies a few metres off Burren Pier, Kilbrittain, and again any access can only be gained from walking from the Kilbrittain Beaches.

The whale expert that arrived from NY to examine the scene and perform the autopsy was brought over by Kilbrittain (invited and paid for). . National Geographic merely came along to film the event. Kilbrittain also contracted in the company who is to de-bone the mammal, dispose of its remains and are also the first who actually physically attended the scene of the whale, putting forward the future plans of preserving the bones. Which by law states that they are then entitled to it.

Courtmacsherry have tried going about claiming the whales:

1. Days after Kilbrittain had already specified plans for the whale, which is on Kilbrittain territory (clearly) and only accessible through Kilbrittain.
2. Courtmacsherry has not shed one penney into the entire operation.
3. Courtmacsherry was only called upon by the media as it represents the Courtmacsherry harbour lifeboat crew.

Its a pretty obvious standing from what I can see. It doesn't say much for the Courtmacsherry case when their means of getting the remains was by sneaking across, late in the dark night to unlawfully cut the poor animals head off with a chainsaw. So, if this was ok, why did they wait and sneak across in the dark of night? (during which, Kilbrittain people were still working at the scene)

And people can mock and jeer the situation as much as they like, but nothing like this has ever been seen on our coastlines, and people can not even consider the value of this, through publiity, tourism and actual monetary value.

Very well said!!!
This may seem trivial to many people, but to the people from Kilbrittain, who have invested their money and time (esp given the weather), it would be terrible for someone else then to just come along and take it!!!