Volunteer rescue crews were involved in two separate incidents at sea over the weekend.
The lifeboat crew with Clogherhead RNLI brought an adult and three young children to safety after their 4-metre dinghy lost power and started drifting out to sea off the county Louth coast this afternoon.
The rescue happened when a member of the public spotted the dinghy drifting out to sea and called for help. The small vessel was a half mile off the beach when it started drifting. The Clogherhead lifeboat was requested to launch at 2.17pm and was on the scene in a few minutes.
Elsewhere, a stranded couple were rescued by Dun Laoghaire RNLI inshore lifeboat at Blackrock last night after they became stranded at high tide on the coast.
The incident occurred shortly after 11.00pm when the pair realised their route off the rocky outcrop at Maretimo was cut-off by the incoming tide since their arrival on foot earlier in the day.
Both were uninjured and were brought to safety by the three-person crew of the rescue boat.