Ireland's Loch Ness Monster exists and lurks beneath the oceans and lakes, according to a top sea serpent hunter.
Horse-eels are mythical aquatic beasts and have been regularly sighted by locals at Lough Nahooin and Lough Fadda in Connemara, Co Galway.
These strange sea creatures are described as having a horse-like head with a very elongated eel shaped body and have been tipped as Ireland’s answer to the Scottish legend.
Now residents at Carlingford Lough claim they’ve seen the majestic creatures and have enlisted the help of renowned naturalist Adrian Shine to help detect the presence of the sea- serpents.
The famous scientist has spent over 50 years studying what lurks beneath and has dedicated a life’s work to uncover whether the Loch Ness Monster exists.
Surrey native Mr Shine is fascinated by Ireland’s horse-eels and told the Irish Mirror: “I believe the witnesses that I have met who have seen these creatures sometimes with legs, sometimes without, sometimes eel like.
“I do believe that we can find them in nature and in some mist, Ireland is very misty as you know.
“The roots of it have been found in the Viking traditions as they were very strong on sea serpents.
“There will always be monsters if people want to believe it.”
He added: “I’ve always been fascinated by this business of the horse eels a very common tradition particularly along the West Coast of Ireland where I spoke to witnesses there and it was fascinating.”
When Carlingford Lough Ferry Company offered to jet Mr Shine in to investigate he jumped at the chance.
“It gave me a chance to have another look at the folklore element. 20 years ago I met Irish people who took the existence of these things for granted.
“Nature itself and the species that live in it can produce these unexpected effects upon us.
“I’m semi-sceptical but I vindicated these eye witnesses instead of impugning them.
“Strange things are seen, sometimes the horse eels are seen as very big indeed and sometimes they come ashore.
“Sometimes there is a conflation of otters and eels, I came to Carlingford Lough and didn’t find any in the water but I was captured by the landscape itself.
“I went on the ferry and saw a lot of medieval stuff, remember this is a Viking legacy.
“I looked at some of the other traditions around Carlingford Lough, you’ve got witches, if the horse eels exist they should exist there.”
Paul O’Sullivan, Managing Director of Frazer Ferries Group which runs the Carlingford Lough Ferry said: “Carlingford Lough is imbued with legend and myths.
“There is no-one better placed than Adrian who has spent decades studying Loch Ness to bring our very special part of Ireland to life.
“Over Easter those that took our ferry spotted pods of bottle nose dolphins amongst other wonders of the water – so who is to say that the mythical horse-eel doesn’t exist?”
