A man who attempted to rescue two dogs from the sea at Newcastle, Co Wicklow, was swept out to sea and had to be saved by the Irish Marine Emergency Service's (IMES) helicopter.
The alarm was raised at about 6.30 p.m. yesterday by the man's female companion, using a mobile phone, when he got into difficulty.
The IMES instructed its coastal unit at Greystones and the Wicklow lifeboat to assist. On arrival at the scene, just after 7 p.m., the helicopter plucked the man from the sea, as darkness fell, about 400 yards off the beach between Kilcoole and Newcastle. The man, who was described as exhausted, was airlifted to Tallaght Hospital.