Family thank emergency services after farmer (58) dies after fall through shed roof

Sean Ryan

A heartbroken family have thanked the emergency services after a farmer who fell through a shed roof while working on his own farm on Tuesday died in Cork University Hospital (CUH) on Wednesday evening.

The farmer, who has been named locally as Eamon Sheehan (58) from Athlacca in Co Limerick, has been remembered as a loyal community member, great farmer, and devout family man.

Locals said Eamon was a gentleman and served on the Board of Management of the local Primary school in Athlacca. Athlacca NS described him as "a true gentleman, and we thought highly of him in school as a parent and as a treasured member of our Board of Management’’.

In a statement his family said they ‘’would like to say thank you to all of their neighbours, 'First Responders', Air Ambulance service, Paramedics, gardaí, Fire service and all who attended to Eamonn’’.

Gardaí said On Tuesday, emergency services got a distress call at 12:54pm about a man suffering a fall on a farm in Clogher, Athlacca.

Emergency services including the air ambulance, gardaí and four units of the fire brigade - two from Kilmallock and two from Limerick City fire service, all attended the scene.

A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Authority said that they “are aware of the incident and have launched an investigation.”

Mr Sheehan is survived by his father John, his wife Margaret (née Coleman) and five children Anna, Ellie, Edmund, Cormac and Davy, as well as two brothers, four sisters and a wide circle of family, friends and neighbours.

Mr Sheehan will repose in Hawe-O’Keeffe’s Funeral Home in Charleville (P56YY15) on Saturday (December 6th) from 5pm to 7pm with prayers at 4:30pm. Requiem Mass will take place on Sunday at 11am in The Church of the Holy Trinity in Dromin.

The Health and Safety Authority (HAS) recently revealed that Over 40 per cent of workplace fatalities in Ireland occur on farms. There has been an average of 14 fatal incidents per year on Irish farms over the last five years (2020-2024).

This year, there have been 17 confirmed farm fatalities, more than in the whole of 2024.