Cork farmer pleads guilty to breaches connected to neighbour’s death on land

A Cork farmer has pleaded guilty to two charges in relation to an accident that occurred on her farm in 2020 that resulted in the death of a neighbour.

The prosecution was brought by the DPP against Mary O’Riordan of Curragh, Lissarda. Ms O’Riordan pleaded guilty to two charges under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, both relating to a failure to discharge a duty.

Counsel for the DPP, Suzanne Gorey BL, said that the charges being brought were under Section 77 of the act, subsections 2a and 9a. Giving evidence, Health and Safety Authority inspector Frances Murphy said the incident occurred at Ms O’Riordan’s premises on April 14, 2020. The court was told that the deceased man, Declan Flynn, and another neighbour John Kingston were refurbishing the roof of an outbuilding at the farm.

The court heard that the incident happened during the covid-19 pandemic and as he was not able to go to work Mr Flynn agreed to help out with the roof renovations.

Ms Murphy said that the two men began work on the roof at around 10am that morning. In the afternoon they were removing nails from some galvanised sheeting when a beam underneath Mr Flynn gave way and he fell approximately five metres to the floor below and sustained serious head injuries.

The court heard that Mr Flynn was taken to Cork University Hospital where he died as a result of the injuries on May 5, 2020. The court was told that a report prepared by assistant state pathologist Dr Margot Bolster stated Mr Flynn died as a result of severe brain trauma resulting from injuries sustained in the fall.

Defence solicitor Jack Purcell said that Ms O’Riordan had no previous convictions.

Judge Joanne Carroll said that she would have liked to have finalised the matter on the day but agreed to an adjournment to allow for the preparation of a victim impact statement by the deceased man’s family. The judge said: “I understand you need time to reflect on this and collect your thoughts. There is no rush.”

The case was adjourned to September 3 for the victim impact statement and finalisation.

• This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme