A FATHER of three died yesterday from serious head injuries sustained when he was struck by a heavy rope on a fishing vessel off the coast of Cork.
Seán Lynch (34), from Castletownbere, Co Cork, was a crewman on the Roise Caitriona trawler which was 30 miles south of the Fastnet Rock when the incident occurred early yesterday.
Three investigations have been launched into the incident, by the gardaí, the Health and Safety Authority and the Marine Casualty Investigation Board.
An emergency call was made from the 79ft trawler to Valentia coastguard at 4.40am.
John Falvey, acting divisional controller at Valentia, said the crewman was knocked unconscious by the blow.
He said Valentia coast guard put the vessel in contact with Medico Cork, based at Cork University Hospital, which is dedicated to giving medical advice to seafarers.
Medico Cork advised that he should be evacuated and the Shannon-based Sikorsky rescue helicopter airlifted the fisherman to Cork airport but he died from his injuries about 10 minutes into the 30-minute journey.
Mr Falvey said that the helicopter is staffed with well-qualified medics but there is no doctor on board.
Mr Lynch is survived by his wife, Deirdre and three children, the youngest of whom is two years old.
He had been working aon board the Castletownbere-based trawler which is owned and skippered by Damian Turner.
The family live at Eastend, Castletownbere, which was plunged into mourning yesterday over the loss of the young father.
The local community is still mourning the deaths of three young men who died in a freak incident in March after their car rolled into the bay at Dunboy Castle outside Castletownbere.
