Father’s shock as young daughter spots submarine off Donegal coast

It comes amid reports that Russian warships and support vessels are operating off the Irish coast.

Ryan Nolan was walking on Nairn Beach near Portnoo on Saturday afternoon last with his five-year-old-daughter Lena.

The Cavan man knows the area well as his wife's family have a holiday home nearby and they spend a lot of time there.

But he was left shocked just before 3pm when he noticed what he first thought was just a boat in the distance.

However, to his shock he soon noticed it was a submarine.

He managed to snatch a picture of the submarine using his phone.

He said "I know the area well and I have never seen anything like this. You rarely see boats in the area but I had to look twice at this before realising it was a submarine.

"It was my daughter Lena who drew my attention to it. She initially thought it was a 'ghost ship.'

"It's not the greatest picture in the world as I only had the phone on my camera but I know what I saw on the day.

"It was only when I read the report of the sighting by another person that it all made sense to me then.

"I'd say I watched it for about ten minutes before it disappeared behind the land. It was a very eerie thing to watch."

Mr Nolan report matched the exact time another beach-goer, a man out surfing on nearby Dooey Beach, also made a report of seeing the vessel.

The origins of the vessel, and the reason for surfacing, are not known.

NATO currently do not have any exercises running in the area.

No reports of the vessel were made on the Marine Traffic website which monitors all vessels around the coast.

However, it has been reported that several Russian warships and a submarine are operating in Irish waters operating 100km off the coast of Cork.

The military ships are not visible on tracking systems, but their support vessels are.

The Irish Defence Forces told the Cork Beo website they are “monitoring the situation” after a Russian military oil tanker Vjazma was spotted on online tracking systems on Tuesday evening 100km off the Old Head of Kinsale. It is believed to be one of several support vessels supporting other vessels from Russia’s Northern fleet.