A motorist escaped serious injury after a swan flew straight into the windscreen of her car as she was driving in Co Cork.
The incident happened shortly before noon on Monday as Mary Murphy was travelling on the Cork-Limerick Road between Blarney and Killeens.
Ms Murphy was shocked but unhurt after the bird collided with her Suzuki car.
Her rear view mirror was knocked off by the force of the collision and the bird went straight through the windscreen, she said.
In an interview on Cork’s Red FM, Ms Murphy said the person who towed the car indicated that it was the first time he had ever heard of a swan hitting a vehicle.
“The man who towed the car away for repairs said he has been in the business for years and it was the first time he had ever heard of a swan hitting a car,” she said.
“There was no warning at all, the swan just hit the windscreen. Thankfully, I didn’t brake hard because if I had I definitely would have been hit from behind by other cars on the road.”
Ms Murphy was assisted by a passing motorist and gardaí arrived on the scene soon afterwards. She was on a busy stretch of the motorway when the incident happened.
She pulled on to the hard shoulder and avoided colliding with other vehicles on the road.
Ms Murphy said she was “shaken” by the incident and compared it to “a bomb going off.”
Gardaí say Ms Murphy’s calm reaction in the event of an unusual occurrence prevented a major accident from occurring on the road.