A man has died after getting into difficulty while swimming in a Co Clare lake

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A man died died after he got into difficulty while swimming in a lake in Co Clare yesterday evening.

The incident happened around 6.30pm at Lake Ballyalla on the outskirts of Ennis.

The man, believed to be in his late 40s, is understood to have plunged into the water at the old pier at the southern end of the popular local facility.

It is believed that the man was seen sinking into the water but did not resurface.

It's also said that other young men dived in after the victim once they saw him dive in, and they were able to reach him, bring him to the surface, and then bring him ashore.

While the garda, the National Ambulance Service, and the Irish Coast Guard were all called, the neighbourhood lifeguard also sprinted to help.

Rescue 115, an Irish Coast Guard helicopter headquartered in Shannon that was attending to a different emergency at the time in Doonbeg on the coast of Clare, was diverted from that operation to the Ennis disaster.

The Irish Coast Guard's Doolin crew, which had previously been called to the Doonbeg incident, was diverted to the Ennis event as well.

Until ambulance paramedics came, efforts were made to revive the man in the interim. The man was declared dead at the spot despite the best efforts of several individuals to bring him back to life.

In case the casualty needed to be evacuated to the hospital, Rescue 115 landed in a field near the lake. However, it was later informed that the guy had gone away, and it was then released.

The corpse of the guy was taken to University Hospital Limerick's mortuary, where a post-mortem examination will be performed.

Gardaí will also undertake an investigation of the tragedy and prepare a file for the county coroner who will hold an inquest at a later date. 

A Garda spokesperson confirmed: “Gardaí attended the scene of an incident on Saturday afternoon at Ballyalla Lake, Ballyalla, Ennis where a man had dived into the water from the Old Pier. Gardaí and persons at scene assisted the man and he was taken from the water. The man was later pronounced deceased.”