A body has been recovered from the sea off the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare this afternoon.
The alarm was raised after a body was seen in the sea at around 3.00pm.
The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard was alerted and requested to launch their boat and make their way to the area south of O’Brien’s Tower. Gardaí also responded the scene.
The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was also tasked to the scene.
At the time, the helicopter was on the helipad at University Hospital Galway after completing a mission from the Aran Islands. After lifting off from UHG, the helicopter reached the search area within 10 minutes.
The helicopter crew spotted a body in the water soon after arriving in the area. They dropped smoke cannisters into the water close to the body to mark the location for the Coast Guard boat crew.
The body was recovered from the water and taken to the Coast Guard station at Doolin. A doctor later attended at the station and formally pronounced the man dead. The man’s body was later removed to University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.