Man dies in currach accident in Co Galway

FRANTIC efforts to save a fisherman who got into trouble off the Co Galway coast were unsuccessful.

The single man in his 50s from An Cheathru Rua drowned after getting into difficulty off the south Connemara coast, where he had gone fishing in his currach which was spotted empty at around 3.30pm, prompting the alarm to be raised.

“A full scale search was launched and the man was found a short time later but efforts to save him were not successful,” said a Garda spokesperson.

The Aran Islands lifeboat, the Costelloe Bay Coast Guard unit, the Shannon-based rescue helicopter and local fishing vessels were involved in the incident.

Gardaí say the man’s identity is not being released until his relatives have been informed.

Another man in his 50s was in a critical condition at Cork University Hospital last night after he got in to difficulty while kayaking off the west Cork village of Castletownshend near Skibbereen. He was airlifted by Coast Guard helicopter yesterday afternoon after crew of the Baltimore-based inshore lifeboat had given him medical treatment at a beach on Horse Island.