Search for young boy reported missing near Cliffs of Moher

Pat Flynn

The search for a young boy reported missing in the vicinity of the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare on Tuesday has been suspended for the day.

The land, air and sea search resumed on Wednesday morning after being initially mounted after the alarm was raised at around 2.00pm on Tuesday.

It is understood the boy became separated from his family who quickly began to search for him. When there was no sign of the child, they returned to the visitor centre and raised the alarm. It's believed that family has been holidaying in Ireland from overseas.

Gardaí were alerted while the Irish Coast Guard were also notified of the situation. Watch officers at the Coast Guard’s marine rescue coordination centre on Valentia Island in Kerry promptly mounted a search operation.

The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard launched their Delta rigid inflatable boat while gardaí responded to the area. Other members of the Doolin team also made their way by road to the cliff top where the boy was last scene.

The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was also tasked to the incident while the Aran Islands RNLI all-weather lifeboat was also requested to assist.

It is understood that the helicopter crew spotted what is believed to be a body in the water at the base of the cliff and directed the Coast Guard boat to the area. The area was, however, inaccessible at the time with large waves breaking on the shoreline.

After the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat arrived at the location they launched their Y-class inflatable boat and along with the Coast Guard boat crew carried out a risk assessment but determined it was still too dangerous to attempt a recovery operation. The search was called off for the evening.

Earlier on Wednesday, members of Clare Civil Defence arrived at the scene and launched a drone in an effort to establish a location for the body. Divers from the Garda Water Unit also arrived in Doolin on Wednesday morning.

Doolin Coast Guard volunteers carried out a further assessment at the scene around lunchtime and determined that conditions were good enough to attempt a search. Gardaí divers then made their way to the location with several members swimming ashore to search the area and directed to the area last identified as a possible location for the body

Despite Garda Water Unit members carrying out a comprehensive search of the shoreline with help from Coast Guard volunteers on the cliff top and Rescue 115 searching from above, no sign of a body was found.

A Garda spokesperson confirmed earlier: “Gardaí, the RNLI, the Coast Guard and local search and rescue services are conducting a search operation in the vicinity of the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare following reports of a missing male juvenile on Tuesday afternoon, 23rd July 2024. Searches have resumed this morning.”