The Irish Cave Rescue Organisation (ICRO), including volunteers from Clare, was called out to assist with the rescue of a dog from a sea cave by Porturlin Harbour near Belmullet, Co Mayo on Thursday night.
Jess, a retired sheepdog belonging to a local family, had been missing since last weekend.
Locals could hear barking, but a boat rescue was considered impossible due to sea swell.
ICRO was officially tasked at 6pm on Thursday and gathered a small rescue rigging team drawn from core team members based in Clare, Tyrone and Dublin.
Having arrived to the scene around 9.30pm, two rescuers descended by rope some 50 metres down a grassy slope and over the cliff edge to get to Jess in the sea cave.
The dog was put in an animal rescue harness and given food, then hauled up from the base of the cliff and returned to her family – the entire operation being concluded before midnight.
ICRO chairperson, Adam de Eyto said the ICRO team were glad to be able to assist.
“ICRO personnel are trained to carry out rescues of people or animals in caves and abandoned mines. When requested by An Garda Síochána or the Police Service of Northern Ireland, ICRO volunteers can respond anywhere in the country. In this case it was a sea cave at the base of a difficult cliff.”
CRO is a voluntary organisation made up of active cavers throughout Ireland. It is run by an elected committee and can be called upon in the event of accidents in caves.
It has rescue equipment stores at four locations in Ireland. The two main stores are at Doolin in Co. Clare and Claddagh Glen in Co. Fermanagh.
ICRO maintains three 4×4 vehicles which are stocked with rescue equipment and first aid equipment for rapid response, these are based in Co. Cork, Co. Clare and Co. Antrim.