A 24-year-old man died last night when he got into difficulty while swimming from open water into a rocky cove near Kilkee in Co Clare. The man, who was named locally as Damien Harte, is understood to be the son of a well-known local fisherman.
The alarm was raised shortly after 7 p.m. after the man left three companions and swam into Byrne's Cove. According to gardaí, "the man was swept further into the cove by the rising tide. It was very choppy there last night and we think that the victim was smashed against the rocks."
The man was recovered from the sea by members of the Kilkee Marine Rescue Service shortly after 7.40 p.m. Rescuers quickly began to administer mouth-to- mouth resuscitation. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter airlifted him to hospital. The crew also "administered CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) on the way to Tralee and a medical team was also on standby when the helicopter arrived", a Coast Guard spokesperson said. The man was pronounced dead on arrival at Tralee General Hospital.