A Portmarnock resident was left stunned when she came across a small shark washed up on a local beach.
Cathy McElroy McMahon was walking along Portmarnock beach when she came across the two-and-a-half foot long fish.
After sharing the pictures on social media, other locals helped to establish that the shark was a small-spotted catshark.
The shark is also confusingly known as a dogfish although regular chipper visitors may know them better as rock salmon.
According to the UK Wildlife Trust: "Catsharks are predators and feed on crabs, molluscs and other small fish.
"When threatened, they curl up into a donut shape - probably to look bigger and harder to eat!
"They are highly common around the UK and live close to the seabed in shallow waters down to 100m deep.
"They sometimes wash up dead on our beaches after storms, but you're most likely to come across one of their egg cases."
