The body of a man has been recovered from the Varty River in Wicklow town after his car plunged into the water in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Local gardaí in Wicklow town received a call shortly before 12.20am with reports of a passerby trying to help the man in difficulty.
The incident happened near the premises of The Fish Man located on the south quay.
It is understood that no one saw the vehicle enter the river, but at least one passerby noticed that there was a car in the water.
When gardaí arrived at the scene, a member of the public was already in the water attempting to rescue the 38-year-old man trapped in the vehicle using a buoyancy aid.
RNLI crews from Greystones and Bray also attended the scene with efforts failing to resuscitate the man, who is understood not to be from the area.
In a statement gardaí said: "Officers received a phone call from a man reporting that a vehicle entered the water at 12.20 a.m. with a person inside the vehicle."
Local Fine Gael Councillor Shay Cullen expressed his “shock” following the incident.
