A tourist in his 20s was rescued from the sea off Co Dublin at the weekend after getting into difficulty.
The man had been swimming on Burrow Beach and then decided to swim out to Ireland's Eye.
However, he was spotted clinging to a marker buoy 1km from shore off Howth by a ferry.
The swimmer was taken on board the Adam Patricia ferry and the Irish Coast Guard unit from Howth were tasked to meet the ferry.
The Coast Guard crew took the casualty, who had been in the water for two hours and was suffering from severe hypothermia, to the Coast Guard station.
Medical care was provided until the arrival of an ambulance. He was then taken to Beaumont Hospital.
In a statement, Howth Coast Guard said: "Thanks to the quick response of the ferry crew a very serious situation was averted and a life was saved."
The Coast Guard added that while "air temperature had risen, sea temperature at this time of year is still very cold meaning onset of hypothermia can happen quickly".
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