Howth RNLI  rescued seven people on board a sinking fishing boat on Sunday. The 17m fishing trawler was stranded 36 miles north east of Howth and taking on water fast.

The Irish Coast helicopter was called to assist the rescue, which took the lifeboat over nine hours to complete.

The force six weather parted the rope a couple of times when she was being towed back to shore.

A crewmember, who was transferred on board with a new salvage pump, found the source of the leak and managed to stem the flow of water before towing her back.

"This was a long callout for our all weather lifeboat crew," said Howth RNLI crewmember Dave Howard. "Conditions were not great offshore and going from the lifeboat onto the casualty vessel in a two to three metre swell was very challenging. However when a fishing vessel reports taking on water, it is vital to make sure that the crew are safe and that the tow does not part. We are relieved that all crew got home safe."