Many residents in the Rathcormac/Castlelyons area, were woken out of their sleep in the early hours of Sunday morning as the garda helicopter searched for a missing man. 

It is understood that gardaí were called when there were fears for the safety of a man who had gone missing from his home. 

Gardaí, backed up by their Air Support Unit, the Coastguard, Fire service and volunteer search groups, were all involved in the operation. 

Sources said fears were such that the helicopter was brought from its Casement Aerodrome base in Dublin shortly after 1.30am to assist, as the area was particularly rural and was hard to cover on foot.

The chopper shone its light and used infra red cameras in the search.

The operation came to an end when the man was found, safe and well, in East Cork. It is understood that gardaí and medical staff met with the man.