Irish Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter and TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) competitor Cathal Pendred has posted photographs of his attempt to rescue a dolphin that became stranded in West Clare on Saturday.

The Dubliner, who last week moved one step closer to achieving his dream of signing a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after winning his first fight in the UFC, was walking with his girlfriend on the beach at Doonbeg when he spotted the mammal, understood to be a male striped dolphin.

Pendred carried the stranded dolphin back in to the water before remarking on Twitter: “I just spent an hour in the sea at Doonbeg trying to save a baby dolphin.”

Despite his best efforts however, the dolphin washed up on the beach and died just hours later.

Irishman Cathal Pendred last week won his first fight in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn, and moved one step closer to achieving his dream of signing a contract with the UFC.

Photos via Cathal Pendred on Twitter (@PendredMMA).