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25th Feb 2018

Car dealer in Cavan opens bonnet of newly-delivered car to find massive spider inside

Conor Heneghan

If you’re in any way afraid of spiders, you might want to look away now.

Ireland is not renowned as a home to spiders of a size that wouldn’t fit on a postage stamp, although there has been evidence of late that larger arachnids are starting to appear in greater numbers.

In the recent past, for example, we were sent in pictures of spiders big enough to frighten JOE readers in Dublin and Wexford, but perhaps none to date rival the creature spotted in Peter Gallagher Car Sales in Cootehill in Cavan last week.

On Thursday, Peter opened up the bonnet of a Mitsubishi car that he had purchased locally and was greeted with the sight of the creature in the pictures below in the engine bay.

While Peter suggested that this is not a spider that would commonly be found in Irish homes, we have since been informed by Michael English, who works in Dugon Venom Systems Lab in NUIG, that it is the giant house spider Eratigena atrica, a native species and completely harmless.

Images via Facebook/Peter Gallagher Car Sales

Apologies if this sight has put you off your Sunday breakfast, lunch or dinner; just try not to think about it when you’re heading off to sleep tonight.

Cheers to Peter Gallagher and Kate Swift for sending this our way. If you have something you would like to share with us, send it to [email protected] or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter.