This article is from page 3 of the 2009-07-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
NORTH Clare is reeling this morn- ing following a series of unrelated accidents which claimed the lives of two men in the space of just three hours on Sunday evening.
An 81-year-old man, named locally as Mickey Conroy, died on his farm in Tubber on Sunday evening when his tractor jolted forward unexpect- edly, fatally injuring him.
According to locals Mr Conroy was an expert mechanic and a lover of all
things mechanical and was showing his tractor to a farm visitor when the accident took place.
Gardai are investigating the incident and a seprate inquiry is expected to be launched by the Health and Safety Authority in the coming days.
Mr Conroy is survived by his wife and four daughters who all live in the area.
Just three hours earlier a French national lost his life in nearby Bal- lyreen in Doolin when he lost his footing and fell into the ocean.
The man was fishing off the rocks in Ballyreen at the time. The alarm was raised by his family shortly after Spm and the Doolin Coastguard and the Shannon-based Coastguard Heli- copter were on the scene in minutes. He was taken from the water by the Irish Coastguard helicopter and air- lifted to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick where he died a short time later.
The man is a French national but has been living in Birr in County Of- faly for a number of years. Gardai are
delaying naming the man until his family in France can be contacted.
Eight members of the Doolin Coastguard were preparing to be transported by the Coastguard Hell1- copter to help search for a 4/-year- old man on Inis Oirr when the alarm was raised in Ballyreen.
The man, from Derry, was on a family holiday and was last seen around 10pm on Saturday evening. Members of the Doolin Coastguard were on Inis Oirr yesterday to assist with the ongoing search effort.
Meanwhile, another man died on board a transatlantic jet which was forced to divert and land at Shannon Airport on Friday morning.
Silom Coase N (ctl a WN Usb Ne aUPUOLEIAY SKS travelling from London to Atlanta, Georgia when the crew contacted air traffic controllers at Shannon re- questing permission to land there.
A passenger who suffered a sus- pected heart attack was pronounced dead at the airport before his body was removed to the Mid Western Re- gional Hospital in Limerick.