Photo was taken just off Cape Clear Island by Niamh Ní Dhrisceoil, West Cork (Irl)

When these swimmers and kayakers went for a swim, the last thing they expected was to be joined by a giant shark. Bathers were making the best of the fine weather when the huge basking shark swam by. It merely swam in among them voluntarily and swam away again.

Niamh who skippers the Cape Clear Ferry during the summer months is very familiar with sightings of basking sharks in the area and said “it was an awesome sight to see it beside swimmers and kayakers. It really put its sheer size into perspective alongside its new friends. And needless to say the shark was enjoying the company of the swimmers and kayakers as much they were of his.” The shark swam among the bathers for several minutes and was not harrassed or disrupted in anyway by them. Basking sharks are quite common around Irish shores at this time of year, and feed mostly on plankton. These harmless creatures can mostly be spotted during fine, settled weather conditions, the likes of which we have been experiencing lately. With this kind of weather, Cape Clear and Baltimore enjoy spectacular water wildlife that can be spotted from land and sea.

Thought on Sunday – June – 30/05/2021

‘Listen to the urgings of God. Anticipate God’s light. Listen for answers you don’t expect and be open to solutions you don’t see coming.’ ~Richard Kautz

We celebarte Trinity Sunday today and it is a reminder that much about God and life is mystery. A mystery is not something you can’t know anything about, but is something that you can’t know everything about. This is so true when it comes to knowing God and talking about God. We are only scratching the surface. Trinity Sunday acknowledges and rejoices in the fact that our God is wrapped in mystery. It means that each day is pure gift, a day to find something new and exciting about God that we didn’t know before.


The Trinity is about the relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We have heard the saying that two is company but three is a crowd. So where does this leave the Trinity? Three is a number that occurs regularly in the Gospels: three wise men, Jesus tempted three times in the desert, Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus fell three times on the road to Calvary, three days in the tomb and so on.

While we may not fully be able to explain the mystery of the Trinity, it is good to acknowledge that much of life is indeed mystery. Life can be unpredictable, uncertain and at times cruel. In the mystery of life we believe that God is somewhere in the middle, helping us to cope and adapt. Somewhere in the middle of it all are three forces working together as one and hopefully making a difference to all our lives. The invitation this weekend is to be open to the mystery of God in our lives, to listen for answers we may not expect and to be open to solutions we hadn’t seen before.

Thought For The Week is updated every Monday