A 35-year-old Polish man died after falling from a cliff while fishing in Co Clare yesterday.
The married man, who had been living in Charleville, Co Cork, is understood to have been fishing from cliffs in an area known as the Pollack Holes on the western side of Kilkee Bay. He fell some 30ft into the water.
The alarm was raised by several members of the public at about 2pm. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter was scrambled to the scene to assist local rescue crews which included the Kilkee unit of the Coast Guard, Kilkee Marine Rescue Service, the fire brigade and gardaí.
Weather conditions in the area at the time were said to have been "dreadful", with high winds and a strong sea swell.
After being spotted in the water, the critically injured man was flown from the scene to a nearby field so he could be assessed by a local doctor.
It was decided he should be immediately transported to Ennis General Hospital. He was accompanied and treated on board the aircraft by ambulance personnel from Kilrush.
At about 3.10pm, the helicopter landed at Ennis, where it was met by two ambulances from nearby Ennis hospital. However, the man was pronounced dead a short time later.
Kilkee Marine Rescue Service spokesman Manuel Di Lucia said: "This can be a very dangerous area, especially when the sea is as rough as it was today. We also had a spring tide today and often, unfortunately, the biggest problem is that people just don't know the Atlantic Ocean.
"There are a lot of signs warning of the dangers associated with the cliffs and especially fishing in the area. This is a terrible tragedy, and our thoughts are with this man's family."
Yesterday's operation was co-ordinated by the Marine Rescue Centre at Valentia Island in Co Kerry. Gardaí say they are treating the incident as a tragic accident.
A brother-in-law of the deceased travelled to Ennis last night, while efforts were being made to contact his wife. A postmortem is expected to take place today at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.
Last July, a Moldovan national died after he fell from rocks while fishing near the notorious Blue Pool just a few miles north of Kilkee.
Yesterday's incident occurred a year to the day since a 35-year-old Polish fisherman died after he and a friend fell from rocks near Tullig, also in west Clare. One man managed to swim ashore and raise the alarm. His friend's body was recovered after a search which lasted almost a week.
Two years ago, also during the October Bank Holiday weekend, three men died after the vehicle in which they had been sleeping rolled off cliffs into the sea near Doolin, Co Clare.