This article is from page 24 of the 2009-12-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 24 JPG
A MAN lost his life in tragic circum- stances when a tractor jumped for- ward and knocked him to the ground, Ennis Coroner’s Court has heard.
An inquest into the death of Michael Conroy (81), of Tubber, heard that he was showing a tractor to a man when tragedy struck, on July 12 last.
Tim Walsh was home from the US on holiday when he visited Mr Con- roy.
In a statement, Mr Walsh said that Mr Conroy turned the key in the tractor and it jumped. As a result, the
rear wheel ran over Mr Conroy, who was a retired mechanic.
Garda Marius Stones said he re- ceived a call shortly before 6pm that evening to go to Tubber.
He said he was told that Mr Conroy had wanted to show his vintage trac- tor to Mr Walsh, who was home from the US on holidays and was staying AU Mrs im ole) Fd poe) b0
He said that Mr Conroy reached in from a standing position to turn on the tractor. However, the tractor was in gear and it moved forward, knock- ing him to the ground.
The inquest heard that an autopsy
was carried out on Mr Conroy’s body at Limerick Regional Hospital. This concluded that death was due to trau- matic chest injuries, consistent with pecleneerae
County Coroner Isobel O’Dea said it was “abundantly clear from the statement of Mr Walsh that an unfor- tunate accident occurred.”
The jury returned a verdict of ac- cidental death.