A South East Clare resident, whose brother lost his life in a farm accident is warning farmers that just a split second could save your life.
As Farm Safety Week continues, the Irish Farmer’s Association is urging people to take note of near-misses and take action.
The voice of Kieran Hogan, whose son Dermot died in a fall from a shed roof on their family farm.
He featured in an Embrace Farm campaign almost a decade ago, which focussed on farm safety and preventing farm deaths.
Today marks the tenth anniversary of Dermot’s death, and his brother Eugene, a journalist and communications officer based in Ogonnelloe has told Clare FM’s Morning Focus that looking back, his death might have been preventable.
Eugene is appealing to people to take a second to assess risks before carrying out tasks, saying nobody died in a farm accident out of intent.
Dermot Hogan was the 17th person to die on a farm in Ireland that year.
In the decade since, farm fatalities have persisted, though to a lesser extent thanks in part to farm safety campaigns from the Health and Safety Authority and a number of famers’ representative groups .
Provisional HSA data has revealed that three farmers have lost their lives in farm workplace accidents across the country so far in 2024 alone, while according to Teagasc, around 4,500 farm accidents happen every year.
Eugene says one death is one too many.
The Clare County Chair of the IFA is warning that for every one accident, there are ten near-misses.
Feakle farmer Stephen Walsh says farm fatalities not only devastate families, but whole communities, and he’s urging farmers to document the warning signs and take action.
You can listen to the full interview here:
