The Galway City RNLI lifeboat came to the rescue of a swimmer who was in trouble in the waters off Blackrock in Salthill this afternoon.
A pedestrian raised that alarm after seeing a woman struggling in the water between Blackrock and Ladies Beach at 12:25pm on Saturday.
The Coast Guard was alerted and called for the assistance of the Galway RNLI lifeboat, which launched from the docks shortly after.
When the lifeboat arrived in the area they directed towards the woman a few hundred metres offshore opposite the Galway Bay Hotel.
The woman was taken aboard the lifeboat and brought to an ambulance waiting on the shore. She was assessed by paramedics and allowed to return home shortly afterwards.
Shane Folan, Deputy Launch Authority said “We would advise anyone thinking of going swimming to let someone else know.”
“Today, for example, there were very challenging weather conditions with high winds and breaking surf”.
The lifeboat volunteer crew on the call-out were helmsman David Badger, Martin Oliver, Ross Forde and James Rhattigan.
