A 9-year-old boy has been airlifted to hospital after he fell into the sea in north Clare this evening.

The boy is understood to have fallen into the water near the lighthouse at Blackhead in the north west of the county.

The alarm was raised shortly after 9.00pm and search and rescue operation was quickly put into action.

The Doolin unit of the Coast Guard and the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter were involved in the search.

The boy was recovered from the water soon after 10.00pm and airlifted to Galway University Hospital where heÂ’s reported to be in a critical condition.