This article is from page 20 of the 2007-10-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
A MAN tragically lost his life after he fell from a roof, while painting a friend’s house in Kilfenora.
James Howard (55), of Ballybreen, Kilfenora, died from head injuries, as aresult of a fall at a house on July 31 last.
At Ennis Coroner’s Court last week, Mary Greene said her son Martin had hired Mr Howard to paint his
house, on July 30 last.
The following day she was passing the yard when she thought she heard James on the phone. A short time later, she passed by and saw James lying in a pool of blood.
“What I thought was James talking on the phone was him moaning,” she recalled.
She attempted to put him in the re- covery position. “I did everything I could,” she said.
The deceased’s widow said he had left for work at 8.30am on July 31. He had been due to return home at mid- day as they were to go to the races.
However he did not return home and several attempts to contact him on his mobile phone failed.
Mrs Howard received a call at tea- time that evening, indicating that her husband had been in a bad accident.
He was on a life support machine and died on August 2.
Pathologist Dr Peter Fawl carried out an autopsy on Mr Howard’s body at Limerick Regional Hospital, on August 4.
He said death was due to head in- juries and skull fractures, consistent with having fallen from a height.
Coroner Isobel O’Dea said the ap- propriate verdict was one of acci- dental death and the jury brought in this verdict. Solicitor for the Howard family, Marie Keane said the acci- dent was “very tragic and took the life of a very kind and decent man”’.
‘He will be a terrible loss to his family and all who knew him,” said Ms Keane.