GAA players seriously injured in 10m fall from bridge
THREE GAA players are recovering in hospital after they fell 10 metres from a bridge in Co Clare in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The accident happened about 3am in Lisdoonvarna, where the annual matchmaking festival began on Friday.
Gardaí on duty in the town at the time got a report that a number of people had fallen into the water at the famous Spa Wells in the town.
Gardaí arrived at the scene within minutes and found three young men, all of whom had suffered serious back and neck injuries.
It’s understood that all three men were found sitting on the bridge when gardaí arrived.
One of the men is understood to have suffered a fractured vertebra in the fall.
Gardaí have confirmed that they are treating the incident as an accident.
It’s also understood that all three men are footballers who played for their clubs in the county championship during the weekend. All three are believed to be from the Doonbeg and Cooraclare areas of the county.
After speaking to the men, gardaí established they had all fallen from the bridge into a shallow stream up to 10 metres below.
It’s believed tree branches may have broken one or all of the men’s falls.
“It appears one man fell from the bridge, and while trying to rescue him the other two also fell,” a Garda spokesman said.
The three are also believed to have made their way safely out of the water and back up to the bridge where they were found by gardaí.
Three ambulances took them to University Hospital Limerick.