This is a subscriber-only article
Five years on from his father’s death, Brian Rohan said the pain of losing Liam doesn’t lessen but rather “it changes”.
The untimely death of Liam Rohan in 2012 – as a result of a farm accident – served as a catalyst for the establishment for the Embrace Farm group, which helps families affected by farm deaths and accidents.
The organisation held its fourth annual remembrance service in Abbeyleix last Sunday.
The great and the good from the farming sector turned out on Sunday to support the service. Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed, IFA director general Damian McDonald, ABP founder Larry Goodman and ICMSA president John Comer attended.
Charitable status
Norma and Brian Rohan have seen the organisation grow to where they are expecting full charitable status in the coming months.
The loss of his father continues to fuel the desire to grow Embrace, but also weighs heavily on Brian’s mind daily on the family dairy farm in Co Laois.
“You never stop missing him, if I’m being honest,” Brian told the Irish Farmers Journal on Sunday.
“You’re nearly afraid to make decisions on the farm because he’s not around anymore… I changed the diet feeder there recently and it was a big thing to do because he [Liam] didn’t want to change it. You have to make decisions for yourself.
“I had to change the jeep because it had 180,000 miles but you feel guilty that you’re making a big decision like that when he’s not around.
“It doesn’t get easier as such. You adapt, you move on with your life but because you spent so much time with this one person, when they’re gone, it’s difficult to fully fathom it all,” Brian said.
Embrace has been lobbying for changes to the law so a spouse or partner can obtain access to the farm bank accounts in order to keep the business going after the death of the farmer.
Brian said that Embrace is still pursuing these changes.
“The change of Government will slow things up… we had been making good inroads with the last Taoiseach but we have to see what the interest is like from the new one. To be fair to Minister Creed, he has been very supportive of trying to get these changes made.”
SHARING OPTIONS: