Twelve-year-old Donegal boy catches one of Ireland's largest ever lobsters

A 12-year-old boy hit the jackpot when he caught one of the largest lobsters ever caught in Ireland.

Darragh Wilson from Fanad was fishing with his father Chris and brother Ronan on their boat, the Miss Daisy, for thornback rays off Kerrykeel at Mulroy Bay and made the most incredible catch. 

Darragh was using a long flowing trace baited with mackerel for thornbacks, which we are hoping to tag as part of the Marine Sportfish Tagging Programme run by Inland Fisheries Ireland.  

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He is involved in this programme as a ‘citizen scientist’ along with Chris and Ronan.

Darragh thought he had finally hooked a fine thornback on his light spinning gear, as they have proved elusive of late, and the fish fought hard before coming to the surface, which was when he realised it was not a thornback at all!  

Something even rarer and more impressive had come up from the depths of Mulroy Bay - a huge lobster!

This royal blue crustacean was far larger than any Chris, a lifelong fisherman and diver, had ever encountered, and would have been a shame to put into the pot!  

The lobster measured 72cm long and weighed in at 8lb 6oz.  This impressive creature was around 80 years of age and was returned to roam around the seabed once more, and hopefully preserve its species for future generations and possibly grow larger for a future capture.

The largest lobsters ever caught in Ireland were around 11lbs, with “Big Dessie," an 11lb (approx. 5kg), 70-year-old-plus lobster caught off Portrush, County Antrim, in 2011, and now lives in Galway Atlantaquaria.   

Another massive lobster, weighing 5.3kg (11.6lbs), was caught in 2010 off the Blasket Islands.  Preserving such large lobsters is vital to maintaining their population.