STUNNING FOOTAGE of more than 20 sharks has been captured by Irish surfers swimming off the coast of Clare.
Ray O’Foghlu posted his jaw-dropping of the incredible aquatic animals online over the weekend.
In the clip, he can be seen swimming close to a large group of basking sharks thought to number close to two-dozen.
Filmed on a bright, sunny day at Milton Paraic, the clear blue waters of the Co Clare coast provide the perfect backdrop to this sensational bit of nature.
Ray and three other friends swam close to the Basking sharks for some two hours, with their aquatic friends remaining “mostly stationary” with their “mouths agape” while the four men watched on in awe.
Happy to say this was my morning. Just down the road from the house with two good friends.
The bay was full of sharks. We estimated 20+
Swam with them for two hours. It was completely surreal.
We were mostly stationary and they'd just cruise past, mouths agape. pic.twitter.com/2SNUFRk8uD— Ó Foghlú (@rayofoghlu) May 2, 2020
Most associate sharks with films like Jaws - but there was little reason to be worried around this lot.
Basking sharks feed off plankton and do not bite their prey either, making them largely harmless to surfers compared with their great white cousins.
Writing alongside the stunning clip, Ray said: “Happy to say this was my morning. Just down the road from the house with two good friends.
“The bay was full of sharks. We estimated 20+ Swam with them for two hours.
“It was completely surreal. We were mostly stationary and they’d just cruise past, mouths agape.”
Another of Ray's companions Tom Gillespie filmed footage of the once-in-a-lifetime encounter on his GoPro camera, with the resulting video uploaded to Instagram.
"We were aware of some recent sightings in the area and the bay is within 2kms of where we all live so we got up early on and went out on our boards,” Tom told Breaking News.
"And there they were…They were quite slow and peaceful, and they just came towards us and cruised past. We just tried to make sure we didn’t look like plankton.
"We just sat or lay there and acted calmly, we were very careful not to touch them, and tried not to disturb them.”
A truly remarkable sight, their footage has been viewed nearly 200,000 times combined and makes for a breathtaking watch.
See More: Clare, Co Clare, Newsletterl, Sharks, Surfing
