Son, 6, sees garda father plunge to death off cliff

A 46-YEAR-OLD off-duty garda has died after falling from a cliff while fishing with his six-year-old son in Co Clare.

The body of Monaghan-based Adrian Martin, who was on holiday in the area, was recovered from the sea afterwards by rescue teams.

Mr Martin had been fishing from a 75-foot cliff close to Dunlicky Castle, a popular mackerel fishing spot near Kilkee.

The alarm was raised shortly after 1pm when another man, who had also been fishing nearby, witnessed the tragedy.

It is also believed that the shocked young boy was only prevented from falling to his death by another man who had been fishing.

The man raced to the cliff edge, where the young boy had gone to look for his dad, and brought the child to safety, caring for him until the emergency services arrived. Another man raised the alarm by phone.

Staff at the Irish Coast Guard (ICG) coordination centre at Valentia Island in Co Kerry mounted a search and rescue operation.

The body of Mr Martin was taken on board the rescue boat and rushed back to the Kilkee Marine Rescue Service centre where emergency medical services were standing by.

Gardaí travelled to the family’s rented holiday apartment in Kilkee where they broke the devastating news to the victim’s wife.

The body was later removed to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick where a postmortem examination will be carried out.

Gardaí are investigating the circumstances of the incident but are treating it as a tragic accident.