Three men have been airlifted to hospital after being rescued from the water in Clontarf in Dublin.

The men got into difficulty while swimming near Bull Island.

They were winched to safety by the Coast Guard helicopter.

Gerard O'Flynn is the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue operations manager.

He says the alert was raised shortly after 1.00pm on Sunday.

"The Dublin Marine Rescue Coordination Centre received a call from a member of the public, indicating that three swimmers got in difficulty off the Clontarf area of Dublin Bay.

"The Dublin-based Coast Guard helicopter was immediately tasked to the scene and the three casualties were taken from the water and taken to Dublin Airport for transfer to hospital, where they're receiving attention".