How Bizarre: Something On Mary St Had Dubliners A Bit Rattled Yesterday

Dubliners were hiss-terical yesterday as a snake was spotted slithering up the road on Mary Street.

A crowd gathered, many taking photos of the reptile on their phones as gardaí attempted to coax him into a box, the Irish Independent reports.

The snake might have had a few rattled, but James Hennessy who owns Reptile Village in Co Kilkenny told the paper it was a young, non-poisonous, boa constrictor, native of Central and South America. 

Phew.

The Only In Dublin Twitter account was quick to alert locals through the medium of social media. 

Hennessy also said the snake appeared to be about a year old and could have been a pet as it seemed used to humans.

"It's not acting defensively, he's well spread out so he's used to humans," James told the Irish Independent.

"They are really good at squeezing through areas that they shouldn't.

"They won't go far, usually less than 100 metres from where they've escaped," he said.

James said it's common for pet snakes to escape or to be dumped, but they won't survive for more than a few weeks in Ireland's climate.

A boa can grow to upwards of 12ft long.

It's not the first time St Patrick has been caught off duty either, a snake was found at St James' Gate last September too.

The moral of the story? Call the gardaí.  

Cover pic: Skybackpackers.com