The submarine spotted off the coast of Donegal.
A local fisherman has spoken of his shock after a close encounter with an unidentified submarine off the coast of Donegal.
John Cunningham from Killybegs was out searching for fish on his boat the Aine when he noticed another vessel close-by on his radar.
John went to investigate the identity of the boat on his Automatic Identification System but could not find it.
But as he did so he received a call on his radio.
John (left) with his brother Pat on a recent fishing trip.
The call was from a man with an English accent who was warning him that they were in the area.
Upon closer inspection John got an even bigger surprise when he realised the vessel was actually a submarine.
The fisherman managed to get a picture of the vessel which was located approximately 30 miles off the north west coast of Donegal.
John said “It’s a long time since I have seen a submarine – perhaps going back as far as the nineties.
“I’m not sure which country it was from or what it was doing as we didn’t want to get too close to it.
“The man we spoke to was a lad with an English accent and he wanted to know where we would be trawling.
“There could be more submarines out there but it could be the case that we simply don’t know they’re there.
“We were just lucky to have come across it after it had surfaced.”
In recent years there has been much speculation linking the sinking of fishing trawlers with submarine activity in the area.
The Celtic League, an organisation which monitors submarine activity in British and Irish waters, said the submarine was most likely the British Royal Navy’s Astute class submarine.
Spokesman Bernie Moffatt said, having viewed the picture, that he was 99% certain it was a Royal Navy sub.
He said there is evidence that at least one fishing vessel has been in collision with submarines resulting in loss of life.
He said his organisation suspected there were many more.
He said he was happy that this submarine operated a NOTAMS system – a notice to mariners that they are in the area.
“That has been operating for the past two decades but not all countries observe it. The British do and I would think this is what happened on this occasion.
“I would say more than likely this was a training exercise,” he said.
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