Tributes to environmentalist killed in lawn mower accident

Tributes have been paid to an environmentalist and author who was killed in a freak lawnmower accident in West Cork on Tuesday.

Bodo Baginski, 60, was killed in Glengarriff when the ride-on lawn mower he was using to cut a neighbour’s grass toppled over.

He was operating the machine on an incline when the incident occurred at about 9pm. It is understood Mr Baginski suffered catastrophic injuries and died instantly.

It is also understood he was found by his partner.

Gardaí who investigated the incident described it as a tragic accident. They are now preparing a file for the coroner’s court.

Mr Baginski, who was originally from Germany, moved to West Cork in 1990. He lived with his partner and two young daughters at Ardnatrush, near Glengarriff, overlooking Bantry Bay.

A physiotherapist and chartered massage therapist, he wrote and co-wrote more than 20 books on a range of alternative and holistic therapies.

Some of his works include The Chakra Handbook and Reiki: Universal Life Energy, one of the first best-seller books on reiki.

His books have been translated into many languages, including English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Hindi, Japanese, and Korean.

But following his move to West Cork, Mr Baginski began campaigning for the local environment.

He was passionate about beach and shoreline clean- ups and had built up an impressive dossier charting litter hotspots along Bantry Bay, which he urged the authorities to tackle.

Alex O’Donovan, the secretary of the Bantry Salmon and Trout Club, said Mr Baginski was very committed to the local community.

“He played a huge role in motivating people in the area to keep the shoreline clean for both residents and tourists. He was a fantastic man, who was very easy to deal with.”

At the time of his death, Mr Baginski was playing a key role in the Save Bantry Bay committee which is fighting plans for a new intensive mussel farming operation.

“He was such a great guy, absolutely astonishing,” said Tony Lowes, spokesman for Friends of the Environment. “He did such an amount of campaigning work for the environment.

“But he had a real passion for beaches across West Cork, and for keeping them clean. He was an inspiration to everyone who knew him. He was the kind of person who, with very few words, could inspire people to make the world a better place.”

Local councillor Mary Hegarty said people were shocked by his death.

“He was a quiet, private sort of a person and a really nice person. The family are very well liked. Bodo had been living here for a long time and was part of the community. It is very sad, it’s tragic,” she said.

Funeral arrangements are being finalised.