Gardaí in North Cork and the Health and Safety Authority are to carry out separate investigations into the death of a 77-year-old farmer on the Cork - Limerick border on Thursday.
The man, named locally as Danny Mullins from Kilbehenny in Co Limerick, was fatally injured when he was caught in a pneumatic gate on the farm at around 4pm.
The emergency services were alerted and paramedics treated Mr Mullins but he was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was removed to University Hospital Limerick for a postmortem.
Gardaí described Mr Mullins’ death as a tragic incident and they will now prepare a file on his death for an inquest at Limerick County Coroner’s Court while the HSA has also begun an investigation.
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Mr Mullins’s death is the latest farm deaths in the south and follows the death of five farmers in separate incidents in various parts of Co Cork since the start of the year.
Last month, father-of-five, John O'Callaghan (66) from Monaroe, Minane Bridge in South Cork was died following an accident on his farm on June 25th.
On June 3rd, Michael Cronin, who was in his 70s and from Church Road in Bantry, died after an accident involving a quad bike at his farm at Coomanore South in the Mealagh Valley outside Bantry.
John Reynolds (74) after after he was attacked and knocked over by a bull at his dairy farm at Ballyinaloughy in Ballinhassig between Cork and Bandon on May 9th.
Paddy Curtin (64) from Knockscovane in Meelin in North Cork died when he was attacked by a bull while feeding cattle on a property at Tullylease near Charleville on April 2nd.
According to the HSA, farming remains the most dangerous workplace in Ireland in terms of fatal accidents with 18 people dying on Irish farms in 2019.
According to HSA figures, 214 people died in accidents on Irish farms between 2010 and 2019 with tractors and farm vehicles accounting for 30 per cent of these and machinery and livestock each accounting for a further 18 per cent of fatalities.
