Celtic Mist

Product Information

The 56ft steel hulled ketch was donated to IWDG in 2011 by the Haughey family in recognition of their work over the last 21 years. Andrew Shine, Celtic Mist officer, has seen first-hand how the research vessel is inspiring young scientists and students. Fiacc O'Brolchain, IWDG Director, says a lot more need to be done for marine protection in Ireland. Keen hurler Daragh McLaughlin the youngest member of the crew has always been interested in marine life and when he came across this voyage immediately joined as a member of the IWDG. He was surprised to see so much marine life and particularly enjoyed observing the large numbers of Common Dolphins and Minke Whales.

Return from a day at the beach with a healthy glow and enjoy family time together playing in the garden or in the den before dinner. A detailed programme of work will be agreed with the successful candidate at the outset. The successful candidate will report to the IWDG Science Officer and work closely with other IWDG Officers, especially the Celtic Mist and Education and Outreach Officers.

Bringing his light-hearted humour there’s not much that First Mate David Bagnall can’t fix or improvise a solution to. David was a key player with the recent painting and refurbishment of the Celtic Mist and soon hopes to be reunited with his boat in Galicia. On this trip he particularly appreciated the great weather and the decisive mission of the Marine Biologists and where they wanted to survey. When we finally sailed into Crosshaven that night, it was already dark, which made it slightly harder to navigate into the marina. However, it was beautiful to see the harbour lit up and some friends of the crew kindly met us there to take our ropes and welcome us to Cork. The following morning, we made our final passage to Kinsale harbour, detouring to some of the whale and dolphin hotspots along the way. Unfortunately, due to some bad weather, there were no sightings that day. But, the overriding sense of accomplishment when we finally stepped foot in Kinsale, paired with the beautiful scenery and wildlife we had encountered for the past 6 days was enough to keep everyone in great form. We ate well that night and it seemed like all of a sudden, the morning had arrived and it was time to part ways. As well as the IWDG’s team of expert staff, what’s made these groundbreaking findings possible is Celtic Mist, a research vessel gifted to the IWDG in 2011 by the family of former Taoiseach Charles Haughey. According to Ron Holland, speaking to Weekend Review this week, he enjoyed working on the project. He still retains an abiding affection for Mr Desmond and Mr Haughey. Situated on the ground floor this room is furnished with a king size bed with bedside tables and lamps, built-in wardrobe, dressing table, mirror and chest of drawers

When Dermot Desmond asked him in 1990 if he would like to oversee the refit of the Haughey family's latest aquisition he readily agreed even though the request was something akin to asking Ron Dennis of McLaren if he would get his boys on the Formula 1 pit crew to change the points and plugs on a family saloon. Knowledge and experience of marine mammal survey techniques, including visual data collection methods. The yacht was officially relaunched in August 2012 and set sail offshore from Dingle in September with a team of IWDG members onboard in search of Cetaceans. Manage the robust data collection and storage of error corrected survey data on board Celtic Mist under the supervision of IWDG’s Science Officer. Conor Haughey is expected to accompany Fiacc Ó Brolcháin for the whale and dolphin group on the delivery run to the Waterford coast in time for the Tall Ships race, which starts at the end of this month.On Thursday morning, just off the shelf edge, the team encountered a number of feeding fin whales and, later that day, had the amazing good fortune to see two blue whales surfacing within half a kilometre of the vessel.

Dermot and Charlie had a little chat, with the Taoiseach relating the sad tale of how his boat needed work and he couldn't afford to pay for it. With remarkable alacrity Mr Desmond said he'd look after the money. Set on the seaward side of the bay and boasting stunning sea views that span the pristine coastline that reaches to Godrevy and beyond, Celtic Mist is a luxury three-bedroom bungalow with all the indoor and outside space you could wish for; creating a wonderful holiday retreat for families and couples to enjoy. Light-filled and welcoming, the home features a spacious entrance hall with a wooden staircase that ascends to the upstairs rooms where guests will discover a large lounge with stunning sea views; a lovely space for whiling away the hours in complete relaxation. Downstairs, the property’s three ground floor bedrooms are airy and inviting, with comfortable beds and garden views adding to their appeal.A contemporary shower room situated on the ground floor with large walk-in shower cubicle, hand basin, mirror, heated towel rail, WC and hairdryer Celtic Mist has been great for raising awareness, and everywhere we go, we get a good reception,” says Fiacc. “Some years ago, people wouldn’t have known who we were or what the IWDG was, and now we are known almost universally, which is an extraordinary achievement. That’s not just down to Celtic Mist, it’s also due to a lot of hard work by the scientists who work for the organisation, but it’s a big change from that point of view — people are much more aware of what’s going on than they used to be.” The nation didn't bat an eyelid of course and besides we were were in a nautical mood ourselves. The Whitbread Round the World Race started in September 1989 setting out from Portsmouth, headed for Uraguay, Australia and New Zealand on the outward leg of an eight month jaunt. Operating for about five months of the year, Celtic Mist proudly flies the flag for the IWDG as it journeys from port to port, exploring and researching an incredible amount of Irish waters and beyond — notably, Celtic Mist even undertook a 4,000km expedition from Ireland to Iceland in 2018! This day we ventured out to the Magharee Islands after gaining permission from the owner to land on one them. By the time we arrived and took the inflatable to land on the shore of Illauntannig (the largest of the islands) the combination of intense sunshine and virgin sand would have convinced anyone we had landed in the Caribbean.

Growing up to 33 metres in length and weighing up to 178,000 Kg, the blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived on earth. The north Atlantic population of this iconic great whale suffered massive persecution at the height of the whaling boom. Estimates suggest that the north Atlantic population may have dropped to as low as 400 animals. Numbers are thought to be recovering slowly, but they are still a rare sight. with the IWDG estimating that perhaps 30-50 individuals pass through Irish waters each year based on acoustic data. Our scientific programme on Celtic Mist is still in full force, with leg 11 (already!) sailing from Fenit to Dingle. Our fantastic crew enjoyed sightings of marine mammals, such as common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, many grey seals around the Blasket Islands, and even a minke whale in Dingle bay. We also had sightings of breaching tunas, a sunfish and diving gannets feeding with common dolphins. We really appreciated watching wildlife in action! One of the other highlights of the week was our funny nights teasing each other while playing board games. This week, we had onboard our own famous writer, Adelaide, a funny ironical young woman who offered to write out weekly blog. Here is her narrative of this great week on Celtic Mist (and at the end, a bonus we really wanted to share with you!) – Hélène, Celtic Mist Biologist

From 30,000 acorns to mighty oaks — with luck and a little help

Contract: This is a part time role running from May – September with an average of 14 days a month. You will be required to work weekends and bank holidays. Full details on the working hours and schedule will be provided before starting the role. Celtic Mist was donated to the IWDG in 2011, by the family of Ireland’s former Taoiseach, Charles J. Haughey. At 17m, Celtic Mist has become IWDG’s flagship vessel, equipped to accommodate eight people. Celtic Mist has surveyed Irish inshore and offshore waters since 2012, successfully circum-navigating Ireland on several occasions, including in 2022. Employing a skipper actually makes financial sense as they also oversee routine maintenance work on an on-going basis which lessens the need for extensive and expensive remedial work every few years. It didn't quite work like that. By the time the canon roared to get the race underway, the Irish racing yacht had half an Irish crew made up with some of our most experienced sailors. Dunbrody.The State sail training brigantine Asgard II sank off the French coast in 2008, while neither of the other tall ships has been entered.