CLARE ALERT:A woman was rescued by two lifeguards in Co Clare after she had been seen walking fully clothed into the sea.
The woman in her mid-50s is understood to have left her handbag on the slipway at Cappa, near Kilrush in west Clare, before walking into the waves.
Two local lifeguards spotted the woman and attempted to attract her attention by shouting at her.
However, the woman continued to walk farther into the sea without responding to the lifeguards.
When the lifeguards received no reaction from the woman, they alerted the Irish Coast Guard before swimming out to rescue her. They located the woman, floating on her back, about 50 metres from the shore.
The lifeguards managed to persuade the woman to return to the shore and brought her back to shallow waters.
She was helped from the water and brought ashore, but appeared unharmed.
She was able to walk with rescuers to the nearby lifeboat station, where she was cared for by the RNLI crew
The woman was assessed at the station by paramedics before being taken by ambulance to Ennis General Hospital for treatment.