Woman goes missing near the Cliffs of Moher

The search for a young woman continued for a second day yesterday, after personal items were discovered at the Cliffs of Moher.

A handbag and scarf, believed to belong to a 29- year-old woman from Co Cork, were found at the Clare attraction on Saturday afternoon.

Staff at the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre were advised of the find and gardaí were notified. Officers were able to identify the woman from items in the handbag.

The woman’s family was contacted and it was established that she was missing. The woman’s mother and other family members travelled to Co Clare while a major search was launched.

The Irish Coast Guard marine rescue co-ordination centre at Valentia Island mounted the land, air, and sea search. The Doolin unit of the volunteer service launched their rescue boat and carried out searches of the sea close to where the items were found.

Land teams patrolled the cliff tops, while searched local land in case the woman had got lost. The Irish Coast Guard’s Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter undertook high and low level sweeps of the area.

The search was due to resume this morning.

Meanwhile, a man who went missing while swimming in Dublin Bay died at Tallaght Hospital yesterday evening. The man had been rescued from the water off Dalkey Island.

A search was carried out by a coastguard helicopter and RNLI lifeboats from Dún Laoghaire after he was reported missing yesterday morning.

The RNLI lifeboat at Dromineer in Co Tipperary went to the assistance of two people whose cruise boat ran aground on rocks at St David’s on Lough Derg on Saturday afternoon.

The occupants were unharmed, and the 31ft vessel was towed to safety, but boat users were warned to take extra care as the lake level is down by about 2ft.