Ireland brought white-tailed eagles back after more than a century: 245 chicks released, breeding continues in 2026

Once extinct in Ireland after decades of human persecution, the magnificent white-tailed eagle is soaring across the country's skies again. Since 2007, Ireland has released 245 young eagles as part of a long-running reintroduction programme, and the population is now breeding and expanding on its own.In July 2026, a pair of white-tailed sea eagles successfully bred at Killarney's Lough Léin for the fifth consecutive year, with two young birds fledging the nest. The National Parks and Wildlife Service estimates that around 150 white-tailed eagles now live in the wild in Ireland, with 17 known breeding pairs.A bird lost to persecutionThe white-tailed eagle was once a native part of Ireland's landscape, but human persecution drove the species to extinction on the island during the 19th century. The birds were targeted because they were regarded as threats to expanding livestock, while shooting and poisoning contributed to their complete disappearance by 1912.More than a century later, conservationists decided to bring the species back. In 2007, Ireland's National Parks and Wildlife Service, working with the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and the Golden Eagle Trust, began the ...