The volunteer crew at Clifden RNLI launched both the all-weather and inshore lifeboats on Friday evening (6 February) to assist a man who had sustained injuries on Inishbofin.
The pagers sounded at 6.45pm and the lifeboats were away shortly afterwards.
Once at the scene, southwest of the island, the casualty was found to have a serious leg injury and was in significant pain.
The lifeboat crew carried out a full casualty care assessment, and were able to assist with pain management and make the casualty more comfortable for transport.
The Irish Coast Guard’s Sligo-based helicopter Rescue 118 soon arrived on scene and the lifeboat crew worked with coastguard colleagues to safely winch the casualty on board the aircraft, on which he was transported to Mayo University Hospital.
Speaking about the call-out, Clifden RNLI lifeboat operations manager Tony Casey said: “I’m glad we were able to help the casualty today and all in Clifden station wish him a speedy recovery.
“Our volunteer crew do regular exercises to prepare for scenarios like this and it’s great to see the training result in a successful operation. My thanks to the crew, our coastguard colleagues and the island nurse for great team working today.
“If you see someone in difficulty in the water, dial 999/112 and ask for the coastguard.”
The Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat was helmed on Friday by Owen Hayes with crew members Caroline Barry, Shane Conneelly and Brian Ward. John Mullen was coxswain in command of the Shannon class all-weather lifeboat with crew Andy Bell, James Mullen, Joe Acton, Neil Gallery and Conor O’Malley.