Man dies after being stung by swarm of wasps in Cork

Olivia Kelleher

A man in his 50s has died after he was stung by a swarm of wasps while gardening at his home in Cork.

Michael (Mick) Sheehan of Carriganine, Macroom was cutting a hedge at his property in the county earlier this week when he accidentally disturbed a wasp nest.

He made his way into his home where he collapsed. The emergency services were called.

However, when the ambulance arrived, paramedics found that the man was no longer conscious.

He was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead before he could be transferred to hospital. A full postmortem will be carried out at Cork University Hospital.

The local Coroner has been informed and an inquest will be held in due course. It is understood that the man suffered an anaphylactic shock having had a serious reaction to the stings. The death is being treated as a tragic accident.

Meanwhile, separately in June of this year the wife of an Irish man who died after he was stung by a wasp gave an interview about his tragic passing. Eamonn Hogan (43) from Kilcoo, Co Down collected his daughter from school on June 23rd, 2023.

Mr Hogan was stung by a wasp later than afternoon. Unforunatelythe father of four had a severe allergy which caused him to go into anaphylactic shock. He died in hospital two days later. He had not been aware of his allergy.

Eamonn’s wife, Corrina spoke to the Irish News on the first anniversary of her husband’s death. She said she wanted to highlight the need for people with allergies to carry an EpiPen.

“Eamonn didn’t know that he had a wasp / bee sting allergy; we would also like to encourage anyone who has a known allergy to carry your EpiPen as this can be the difference between life and death.”

Following the tragedy Anaphylaxi UK issued a statement in which they said that for the majority of people an insect sting is uncomfortable but not dangerous. Tragically, for some, a bee or wasp sting can be serious and lead to potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis.

“To raise awareness, we re-launched our Bee Allergy Aware campaign to highlight the signs of a serious reaction and what to do in an emergency. If you have been stung by a bee or wasp and experienced symptoms away from the site of the sting, please contact your GP and ask for a referral to an allergy clinic.”

Fatal venom anaphylaxis accounts for 20 per cent of all anaphylaxis fatalities. EpiPens - or epinephrine injectors - are used to treat allergic emergencies.