A French woman tourist who yesterday afternoon fell from the highest sea cliffs in Europe - at Slieve League in Co Donegal - was last night recovering in Sligo General Hospital after a major rescue operation involving two Air Corps helicopters based at Finner Camp.
The middle-aged woman had to spend about six hours on a ledge on the cliffs, which are about four miles from the town of Carrick, before being lifted to safety. She is understood to have been with a party of French tourists who travelled by minibus from Galway to visit the scenic spot.
The woman fell at a spot known as One Man's Pass from a height of about 250 feet.
A hospital spokeswoman said that she had injuries to her head, arm and right eye and was suffering from hypothermia. She described the woman's condition as "stable" and said that she had remained conscious throughout her ordeal.
As well as the helicopters, the Killybegs Cliff and Coastal Rescue team, headed by Mr Sean Rogers, was called out. The woman was hoisted from the ledge by ropes. A Dauphin helicopter brought her to Sligo General Hospital.
The popular walking place is known for its low cloud and rescue operations were hampered yesterday by fog. "Even in good weather, this would be a difficult spot to effect a rescue, but this evening the fog was so bad you could not see a finger in front of your face", a member of the rescue team said.
A local garda described the path as being like the apex of a roof, narrowing to two feet in places. He described it as "extremely dangerous" and added that he would not have thought anyone would have been walking in the area given the poor weather conditions yesterday.
Four years ago, in a similar accident, a man died when he fell from the same path.
The rescue services were involved in three other operations yesterday evening. In Galway Bay, two youths were rescued when they got into trouble while sailing a dinghy. They were taken ashore by the Galway Bay lifeboat.
In Co Kerry, the Fenit lifeboat was called to the aid of a windsurfer, while a trawler off the Co Wexford coast was towed to St Helen's Harbour after alerting the local lifeboat with flares.