Accidental death verdict at inquest of Mayo man who fell while cutting a tree

A man using a chainsaw cutting tree branches in the wake of Storm Darragh last December sustained fatal injuries when he fell from a height of 4.3 metres (just over 14 feet), an inquest has been told.

John O’Boyle, Quignalecka, Ballina, was pinned between the ladder and the tree he had been cutting at his home on December 19, the inquest, conducted by the Coroner for Mayo, Dr. Eleanor Fitzgerald, heard.

Mr. O’Boyle was being assisted in his work by a friend, Malachy Coleman, who was holding the ladder at the time.

Tracy O’Boyle, wife of the deceased, in a statement to gardai read to the inquest, said there were a lot of trees down following a storm and her husband was cutting branches on a ladder when the accident occurred.

Mrs. O’Boyle said she was alerted to what happened by Malachy Coleman, giving “an almighty bang on the window”.

Efforts to resuscitate Mr. O’Boyle at the scene proved unsuccessful.

The inquest heard that the chainsaw held by the deceased did not cause him any injury.

An autopsy at Mayo University Hospital determined that Mr. O’Boyle sustained a head injury leading to a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage due to a fall.

No amount of resuscitation could have brought the victim back, the coroner noted.

She added that even for professionals there are risks involved in cutting trees at a height.

Safety measures are advisable for those cutting trees in such situations, Dr. Fitzgerald continued.

The coroner expressed her deepest sympathy with the wife and family of the deceased.

She was joined in her remarks of sympathy by Sergeant Sean McHale, on behalf of An Garda Siochana.

Sergeant McHale described the late Mr. O’Boyle as “an absolute gentleman”, a person who was very popular and would not be forgotten.