Here's the incredible moment a group of researchers from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) encountered a group of basking sharks off the coast of West Clare.
The drone footage, captured by Simon Berrow shows the sharks circling their research boat in an 'unexpected' encounter.
The group had been at sea for almost 6 hours attempting to research and record humpback whales who have been known to swim in that area but instead found themselves at touching distance from the sharks.
According to Dr Simon Berrow there was 'hardly a sea bird' to be seen in the area until they encountered the sharks.
He said: "We were at sea for almost 6 hours searching for whales, there was hardly a sea bird to be seen until we saw a basking shark.
"It was totally unexpected that we'd encountered a basking shark, especially at the surface of the water and at this time of year.
"Then we realised that there were black little pointy bits sticking out of the water, there were 4 or 5 of them.
"As soon as we saw this cluster it dawned on us that this is unusual, something you'd rarely see so we went straight to the drone."
You can find out more about IWDG by visiting their website here.
