Twin brothers were involved in a farm accident yesterday, Wednesday 16 September, in Toulett, Co Donegal. One of the brothers, understood to be in his mid-sixties, died as a result, while the other brother is being treated for injuries at Letterkenny General Hospital. The brothers, both unmarried, farmed beef and sheep. Michael Chance, IFA county chair for Donegal, is a next-door-neighbour of the two brothers and said it is a tragedy.
"It's an absolute tragedy. The victim was well-known in the area and was just carrying out the usual farm activities when the incident happened."
It is understood the victim, named as Patrick Dowds, was attacked by a Charolais bull on Wednesday morning when he went out to feed the cattle. His brother, George, went to look for him when he became suspicious of the length of time Patrick was gone. The bull attacked George when he went into the field with the twin brothers' nephew.
An Garda Síochána were alerted to the scene of the incident shortly afterwards and the area has been sealed off for investigation.
Chance said that although a lot is currently being done to promote farm safety after the 30 deaths on Irish farms last year, the two brothers were the sort of farmers who would not have gone to meetings or seen campaigns online, indicating there is a subsection of the farmer population that farm safety campaigns have yet to reach.
"We're doing better now than we did before, but we need to do more to reach this type of farmer," Chance said.
This death brings to 13 the number of people who have died on Irish farms so far this year. Some thirty people died on farms in 2014.
Related stories
Ageing profile one of the main factors leading to rising trend in farm deaths
SHARING OPTIONS