As if this year hasn't taken enough already.

In this age of lightning fast information, it's often the case that stories can be confirmed and then unconfirmed in a matter of moments.

The nature of mass media is that unless there is hard proof of a visual nature, anything is up for debate. The best way to illustrate this point is the current situation with Fungie the Dolphin going missing down in Kerry.

Yesterday evening, RTE News reported that concerns were growing in Dingle that the beloved dolphin had gone missing and hadn't been seen in two days, prompting search efforts by locals. Yet, last night, a fisherman's magazine - yes, it's a thing - claimed that Fungie was seen safe and happy at least twice, once in the morning and once in the evening, by skipper Paul Hand.

This morning, Dingle Surf - a local shop, famous for being the most westerly surf shop in Europe - reiterated this point online. Not only that, the skipper from The Skipper Magazine story, Paul Hand, told RTÉ the same story.

Yet, bizarrely, Mary O'Neill of Dingle Boat Tours - which operates sighting expeditions of Fungie - told Today FM this same morning, just an hour after that tweet by Dingle Surf, that the dolphin is still missing. Fungie has been missing for two days, according to them, and this is believed to be the longest Fungie has ever been missing from Dingle.

Conclusion? We're still not sure what the hell's going on.

Until someone shows us a video of Fungie bopping his nose up and down, we're not taking this as proof. Also, how old is Fungie at this stage? Odds are he's a little bit doddery now seeing as how he's probably in his forties now. He might have taken a wander out too far and got lost on the way home.

Happens to the best of us, sure.