A MAN HAS been airlifted to hospital after he was injured in a fall while hiking on Mullaghmore Mountain in Co Clare this afternoon.

The alarm was raised at around 1:45pm when emergency services received a report that a person had suffered a fall at the popular beauty spot in the Burren.

It’s understood the man is in his 60s and had been hiking with a group when the accident happened.

The National Ambulance Service and Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard were tasked to the scene. The Galway Mountain Rescue Team was also requested to respond to the incident but were stood down en route.

The Shannon based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was also scrambled.

The location where the accident occurred was about 1.2 kilometres from the road across the limestone pavement and inaccessible by any vehicle.

As a result, ambulance paramedics and Coast Guard personnel had to trek across challenging terrain carrying essential equipment to reach the casualty who was being cared for by friends. Weather conditions in the area at times were also reported to be poor.

On arrival at the scene, Rescue 115 circled for a time before winching the helicopter’s paramedic to the ground. The helicopter then flew away from the location to allow paramedics assess the patient.

The man treated and stabilised and placed in a stretcher before Rescue 115 returned to winch the casualty and winchman/paramedic on board. The man was flown to University Hospital Galway where he is being treated for a head injury.

Earlier, emergency services were requested to respond to an incident at Spanish Point in West Clare.

The alarm was raised at around 9:30am after the Irish Coast Guard received a report of a swimmer in difficulty at the popular beach.

Coast Guard volunteers from Doolin responded to the incident along with National Ambulance Service paramedics. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter was also tasked.

On arrival at the scene, Coast Guard personnel found that the man had been assisted from the water by two surfers who were close by at the time. Once it was established that the man had been brought ashore safely and did not require medical attention, the ambulance and Rescue 115 were both stood down.