Five people got into difficulty in water in the Salthill yesterday after an "intimidating" dolphin was reportedly causing difficulty for swimmers.

Galway RNLI responded to the call after Valentia Coastguard received reports of the incident from a member of the public just before 7.30pm last night.

Witnesses said the dolphin had circled the swimmers, then swam at them in an intimidating manner. 

Mike Swan, Operations Manager at Galway Lifeboat Station said by the time they arrived at the scene, a fishing boat had positioned itself between the dolphin and the swimmers.

“Before we arrived, the dolphin apparently approached the swimmers and essentially began to round them up. It wasn’t exactly an attack but the dolphin began prodding and slapping them with its flipper.”

The lifeboat, with crew members, joined the fishing vessel in keeping the dolphin away from the swimmers until they made it safely ashore.

The swimmers were very shook by the incident but did not require medical assistance.

There have been other incidents further south than Galway at Doolin at Inis Oirr.