Marine biologist Kevin Flannery, from Dingle Oceanworld, who is now caring for the crustacean, said the shellfish’s traffic light colour certainly saved him from appearing on a plate in a “dining room in France or Spain”. He joked that the presence of Armagh colours in the lobster due to an incredibly rare genetic mutation could be a sign for the All-Ireland football final game between Galway and Armagh. It was discovered by Alan and Cathal King, a family of shellfish buyers, after it was hauled up off the Galway coast this week.
“It’s a one-in-a-million. I think it turning up is a good omen for Armagh even though it came from Galway”, said Kevin Flannery, director of Dingle Oceanworld. He said the lobster stood out among its dark navy counterparts when it was delivered to the King family.
“Some people initially thought it was cooked when they spotted it in the batch. “But it wasn’t,” said the marine biologist, “It’s alive and kicking now in the aquarium, and looking out at people. “It’s a beautiful orange.
In rare cases, it is what is called colourmorph. It’s much like an albino in a human. We have gotten an odd white one and different blues but to get an orange one like this is a one-in-a-million chance.
“It didn’t turn up on the 12th of July, it turned up this week just for Armagh.” Flannery added that the amber colour of the female lobster is attracting a lot of attention in the aquarium. "People are asking if she was cooked, was she bo.