Two men seriously injured in Co Limerick farm accident

David Raleigh

Two men are being treated for serious injuries at Cork University Hospital after they fell through the roof of a shed while carrying out work on a farm in Co Limerick on Saturday.

The men sustained head and other injuries during the workplace accident, around lunchtime, at a farm at Ardagh, in west county Limerick.

The two men, named locally as Jimmy Duggan (61), and David Woulfe (50s), were airlifted from the farm by two air ambulances, to Cork University Hospital.

A Garda spokeswoman said that “Gardaí and emergency services attended a workplace incident on a premises in Ardagh, Co. Limerick” and that, “the Health and Safety Authority has been notified”.

The Garda spokeswoman said the men's injuries were “believed to be serious at this time”.

Two units from Newcastle West Fire and Rescue Service were also dispatched to the scene to assist ambulance personnel.

Former mayor of Limerick, Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Collins, who knows both men, said: “It’s a big, big shock to the local community and everyone hopes they will be well and that they will be okay in the days ahead; all we can do is wish them well.

“They are two very well-known community people, they are both very, very involved in the GAA, and the community, they are very well known and very respected.”

Mr Woulfe is the current chairperson of the St Kierans GAA Club, Ardagh, and Mr Duggan is also closely associated with the club. A spokesperson for St Kieran’s club said its “volunteer network are rallying around” both men and their families.

Prayers were being said locally that both men would recover from their injuries.

The Health and Safety Authority were contacted for comment but did not immediately respond.