A 77-year-old man was airlifted to hospital late last night following a search which was launched after he had been reported missing.
The man was feeding livestock on his farm at Ballymacloon near the village of Quin about 13 kilometres from Ennis.
The man was found lying in a drain from which he was apparently unable to free himself.
A neighbour reported the man missing to gardaí yesterday evening.
Gardaí, assisted by members of Clare Civil Defence and locals, went to the scene and began a search for the missing farmer.
The Killaloe Unit of the Irish Coast Guard was also dispatched to assist in the effort.
The Shannon based Irish Coast Guard helicopter was called in and arrived at the scene at around 11.23pm.
The crew of the rescue aircraft located the missing man within half an hour using its high-tech forward looking infra-red (FLIR) equipment which can be used to see in total darkness.
After being assessed at the scene it was established that the elderly farmer sustained a suspected broken leg.
He was airlifted from the scene and flown the short 5-minute journey to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick where he was said to be in a stable condition tonight.