A west Clare woman has told of her devastation at losing her husband of one year in a farmyard accident more than 2½ years ago.
On January 21st, 2021, full-time farmer Damien Carmody (36) died when a wall collapsed on him while he was helping out friend and contractor Christopher Keane in excavating a new slatted tank for the storage of slurry on the farm of John Roche at Doonaha, Kilkee.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Mr Carmody’s wife, Elaine, said “my whole life fell apart” when her husband’s “life was tragically taken”.
Her victim impact statement was read out by State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey, at the sentencing hearing of two farmers who pleaded guilty to health and safety offences.
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Christopher Keane (48), trading as Christopher Keane Plant-Hire, pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to ensure that in the course of work, individuals were not exposed to risk to their safety, health and welfare at Doonaha, Kilkee on the relevant date.
John Roche (47) of Doonaha, Kilkee pleaded to failing to appoint a competent project design supervisor for the design process for construction work carried out at an excavation at Doonaha on the date in question as required by Health and Safety construction regulations.
Judge Francis Comerford imposed a fine of €30,000 on Keane, a dairy farmer and contractor, of Bella, Kilkee.
Judge Comerford imposed a fine of €3,000 on Roche.
Christopher Keane told the court Mr Carmody “was a very good friend and we worked together for a number of years”. His death “has really destroyed my life,” he said.
Counsel for Mr Roche, Patrick Whyms BL (inst by solicitor Daragh Hassett) described what happened as an “awful tragedy”.
Under questioning from Judge Comerford on the events of the day, Mr Keane said::“To me the wall looked safe.”
In her victim impact statement, Mr Carmody’s wife Elaine said: “When I lost Damien I lost so much, along with losing my amazing husband I lost all my dreams for the future, dreams of a family, growing old together and all the things we planned to do and see along the way.
“One year married, our lives as a married couple were only just beginning and we were so excited to build our future together.
“I miss Damien so much. I miss his company, his love and affection, his smile, his laugh, his friendship, his caring nature, his helpfulness to others, the way he could always make me feel so safe and loved.”
In her evidence, Health and Safety Authority (HSA) inspector Olive Higgins said an expert report commissioned by the HSA on what went wrong found the wall collapsed due to inadequate strength between the wall and its foundations.
The report also found that due to heavy rainfall, some ground may have washed out.
It concluded the works were unsafe and that the excavation should not have been started until further measures were in place, she said.
“In my opinion, the tank was too big for the space they had, the timing was bad,” she added.
