A 57-year-old man who was carrying out some gardening work for a woman near Navan fell victim to the toppling of a radio mast which had earlier been damaged during a storm, an inquest has been told. Kilian Galligan, Knockmooney, Slane and formerly of Clonmellon died on 8 th March last year. The inquest conducted by Meath County Coroner Nathaniel Lacy at Trim Courthouse on Monday had been resumed from an earlier date to await the findings of an investigation into the accident by the Health and Safety Authority.
Garda Sherlock told the inquest that at 8.20pm on the date in question he got a call to go to the rear garden of a house at a location outside the town. He and Garda John Walsh attended the scene at 8.42. Ambulance personnel were already on the scene and a paramedic told the Gardai that a person at the location was deceased.
The deceased had been working in the garden and there was a collapsed radio mast at the scene. There were wires running from the mast and the fire service was ensuring the area was safe. The fire personnel subsequently raised the mast and released the deceased. Superintendent David Nolan was informed of the incident. Enquiries at the scene revealed that the deceased had been employed to remove the mast which had become unstable in a previous storm.
The owner of the house had left the property at 1pm on that day and returned to find Mr Galligan in the rear garden near the mast. Gardai made contact with Mr Galligan’s wife Maria. Dr Ibrahim was contacted and attended the scene and pronounced the death of Mr Galligan at 10.22pm.
As the incident was work related the Health and Safety Authority was informed. A Garda Sergeant instructed that he did not wish to have the scene preserved for Has examination. Ms Galligan later identified her husband’s remains at Navan mortuary. The coroner said that an investigation carried out by inspector Trevor Nesbitt of the has had been supplied to his office.
Garda Inspector Alan Roughneen read the report to the inquest. It said that Mr Galligan, a general handyman, had been working on an ad hoc basis for six or seven years for a woman just outside Navan. The mast had been erected in the garden by the woman’s late husband who was a radio enthusiast. Mr Galligan was cutting back branches. He was found that evening under the radio mast. He had carried out various tasks at the house. The mast in the garden was 40 metres high. Its weight was 12,350 kg.
The owner of the house had intended to attend a function that evening with a person who was to collect her from her house. Before this she had to carry out some business in Navan which caused a delay. On her return she noticed Mr Galligan’s van in the driveway which she
was not expecting. Concerned, she went around the back of the house and noticed tools scattered around the garden and signs of disarray which suggested some kind of accident had occurred.
She immediately went around the front of the house and the emergency services were called. The woman, in a statement to Gardai, said she didn’t ask Mr Galligan to remove the mast but she did have conversations with Mr Galligan where she expressed concerns about the aerial’s stability at the top of the radio mast. The Hsa inspector said he had attended the scene on 13 th March and he observed four holding down posts which were attached to the concrete foundation and had been recently cut and he noted slight oxidation of the metal, the Garda inspector read.
Professor Muna Sabah gave evidence of having carried out a post mortem and finding that Mr Galligan had died of traumatic injuries. The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death. He and Inspector Roughneen offered their condolences to the family of the deceased.
