Shark Attacks in Ireland

The Global Shark Attack File records 2 shark attacks in Ireland between 1917 and 2018. Of those, 1 were fatal (50.0%). The species most often involved is the blue shark.

Total recorded

Fatal

Fatality rate

50.0%

Global avg 21.1%

Years covered

1917–2018

Recorded incidents by year

Peak 1 (1917)Avg 1.0

19172018

2 years of data, 1917–2018

Shark attacks in Ireland per year, 1917–2018
Year	Attacks
1917	1
2018	1

Species most often involved in Ireland

Species	Recorded incidents
Blue shark	1

Counts based on the species field in the Global Shark Attack File. Species identification in incident reports is not always reliable.

Activities most associated with incidents

Fishing1
Ship Mariston torpedoed & sunk1

Recent recorded incidents in Ireland

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many shark attacks have been recorded in Ireland?

The Global Shark Attack File records 2 shark attacks in Ireland, of which 1 were fatal.

What is the shark attack fatality rate in Ireland?

50.0% of recorded shark attacks in Ireland are fatal, compared with a global average of 21.1%.

Which shark species are most often involved in attacks in Ireland?

Based on incident records, the species most frequently identified in Ireland attacks are Blue shark.

What activities are most associated with shark attacks in Ireland?

Fishing accounts for the largest share of recorded incidents in Ireland, with 1 cases logged.

Where does this shark attack data come from?

All figures are derived from the Global Shark Attack File (GSAF), a non-profit database of shark-human incident records. Shark Data Lab cleans, geocodes, and aggregates the GSAF dataset for analysis.