Off the Waterford coast near Ardmore, on an otherwise unremarkable August afternoon, a man aboard a small pleasure craft became part of a story almost without precedent in Irish waters — bitten by a shark, four miles from shore. What followed was not panic but precision: three rescue agencies converging swiftly on calm seas, lifting one man to safety and returning the rest to harbour without harm. The incident is a reminder that the sea holds surprises even in familiar waters, and that the systems built to answer them are quietly, constantly ready.
Man airlifted after shark bite off Irish coast in rare incident
One man sustained a shark bite injury to his leg requiring emergency helicopter evacuation and hospitalization.
Something that almost never happens in Irish waters
Mark
What actually happened out there? Was this person swimming, or were they on the boat the whole time?
Mimi
They were on the boat. A five-metre pleasure craft with five people aboard, about four miles off Ardmore. The shark bite happened while they were on the vessel.
Luke
Do we know what species of shark it was? The source doesn't say.
Mimi
No, it doesn't. Just that it was a shark bite to the leg.
Mark
How quickly did help arrive once the call came in?
Mimi
The call came in at 16:15. The Ballycotton lifeboat launched at 4:30 and was on scene by 5:10. The helicopter and Youghal crew were already there.
Luke
So roughly an hour from call to arrival. That's fast, but we don't know if the man was treated on the boat first or what his condition was when they got there.
Mark
What happened to the other four people?
Mimi
They didn't need assistance. The boat returned safely to Dungarvan on its own.
Mark
Is this common? Sharks in Irish waters?
Luke
The reporting says it's rare. Extremely rare. But that's all we know—we don't have numbers, we don't know if there's been an increase.
Mimi
It's notable enough that it warranted a full multi-agency response and made the news. That tells you something about how unusual it is.
Mark
And the man—what's his condition now?
Mimi
He's in Cork University Hospital receiving treatment. That's all we know.
Il Polso
- A shark bite off the Irish coast — an event so rare it borders on the unimaginable — sent emergency services scrambling within minutes of the 16:15 distress call.
- Three separate rescue assets were deployed simultaneously: Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117, the Ballycotton all-weather lifeboat, and an inshore lifeboat from Youghal, all converging on a five-metre vessel four miles from Ram Head.
- Calm seas and good visibility gave rescuers the conditions they needed, and the injured man was winched from the boat and airlifted directly to Cork University Hospital.
- The four other people aboard were unharmed, the vessel returned to Dungarvan under its own power, and the volunteer lifeboat crew were back in harbour and running their weekly training session by early evening.
- The man remains hospitalised, and the incident — extraordinary in its cause, routine in its response — has drawn fresh attention to marine safety awareness along the Irish coast.
Off the Waterford coast near Ardmore, on an otherwise unremarkable August afternoon, a man aboard a small pleasure craft became part of a story almost without precedent in Irish waters — bitten by a shark, four miles from shore. What followed was not panic but precision: three rescue agencies converging swiftly on calm seas, lifting one man to safety and returning the rest to harbour without harm. The incident is a reminder that the sea holds surprises even in familiar waters, and that the systems built to answer them are quietly, constantly ready.
On the afternoon of August 11th, a man on a pleasure boat off Co Waterford sustained a leg injury from a shark bite — an occurrence so rare in Irish waters that it immediately set the incident apart. The boat, carrying five people in total, was roughly four miles from Ram Head near Ardmore when emergency services received the call at 16:15.
The response was swift and multi-agency. Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 arrived alongside an inshore lifeboat from Youghal, and the Ballycotton RNLI crew launched their Trent-class lifeboat, The Austin Lidbury, reaching the scene around forty minutes later. Calm seas and clear visibility helped the operation move quickly. The injured man was winched aboard Rescue 117 and flown to Cork University Hospital, where he was handed into HSE care. The remaining four passengers were unharmed.
The vessel made its own way back to Dungarvan, both lifeboats stood down, and the Ballycotton volunteers were back in harbour by 6:15pm — refuelling and continuing with their scheduled training session as if the afternoon had been any other. It is a detail that quietly captures something true about rescue work: the people who do it treat the extraordinary as part of the job.
The man remains in hospital receiving treatment. Shark attacks in Irish waters are vanishingly rare, and this incident is likely to stay in the memory of those who work on or near the sea along this stretch of coast for some time to come.
On the afternoon of August 11th, a man on a pleasure boat off the Waterford coast encountered something that almost never happens in Irish waters. He was bitten by a shark, sustaining an injury to his leg. There were four other people aboard the five-metre vessel when the incident occurred, roughly four miles from Ram Head near Ardmore.
Emergency services received the call at 16:15. What followed was a coordinated response involving three separate rescue assets: the Irish Coast Guard's Waterford-based helicopter Rescue 117, the all-weather lifeboat from Ballycotton, and an inshore lifeboat from Youghal. The sea conditions were calm and visibility was good—circumstances that would prove crucial to the speed of the operation.
Ballycotton RNLI launched their Trent-class lifeboat, The Austin Lidbury, at 4:30pm. By the time they arrived on scene roughly forty minutes later, both the Youghal crew and the helicopter were already there. The injured man was winched aboard Rescue 117 and flown directly to Cork University Hospital, where he was handed into the care of the HSE. The four other people on the boat required no assistance.
The vessel itself made its way safely back to Dungarvan under its own power. Both lifeboats stood down from the operation, and Ballycotton returned to harbour by 6:15pm. The volunteer crew refuelled the lifeboat and continued with their scheduled weekly training session—a detail that speaks to the routine nature of rescue work, even when the circumstances are anything but routine.
The man remains in hospital receiving treatment. Shark bites in Irish waters are extraordinarily rare, making this incident a notable one for anyone who works in marine safety or spends time on the water off the Irish coast. The response itself—three agencies coordinating seamlessly in calm conditions—underscores how quickly the system can mobilize when something unexpected happens.
Citazioni salienti
The man was winched on board Rescue 117 and taken to Cork University Hospital and handed over into the care of the HSE.— Irish Coast Guard statement
Ballycotton RNLI was involved in a multi-agency rescue operation following a report of a person suffering a shark bite while on board a pleasure craft off the Waterford coast.— Ballycotton RNLI spokesperson
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