Stonemasons died after safety cage plunged into Shannon, court hears

Two firms pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act

Members of the O'Herlihy and Whelan families on their way to an inquiry into the two men's deaths. File picture: Brendan Gleeson

Two men plunged to their deaths in the River Shannon after a safety mechanism on a crane, which was holding a steel cage carrying the men, failed to operate, a court has heard.

Members of both men’s families left the court as video footage was played of the moment the steel cage plunged into the river.

A safety mechanism aimed at preventing weight overloading on the crane failed, resulting in “unbearable stress” on a wire rope holding the cage above the river, said senior prosecuting counsel Shane Costelloe.

The tragedy occurred at around 3.40pm on August 29, 2015.

The two deceased, Bryan Whelan, 29, O’Briensbridge, Co Clare, and, TJ O’Herlihy, 36, Castleisland, Co Kerry, drowned as they could not escape from the steel cage.

Both stonemasons had been harnessed into the cage and were wearing life-jackets while they carried out specialised repair works on the south side of Thomond Bridge, Limerick City.

A third worker, Paul Murphy, Askeaton, who was also working on the platform at the time, managed to free his harness and was rescued in the Shannon estuary by emergency first responders.

Criminal charges were brought against two companies, Nationwide Crane Hire Ltd, Dock Road, Limerick, and, Palfinger Ireland Ltd, Church Hill, Cloncollog, Tullamore.

Both firms pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Palfinger supplied the winch crane to Nationwide on March 12, 2003, but unbeknown to Palfinger, the crane’s user manual was missing a chapter on the importance of frequently carrying out testing of the crane’s overload protection system, which it later emerged had failed on the day of the “catastrophic tragedy”.

The crane was mounted onto a flat-bed lorry on the bridge with an extendable telescopic winch that held the men in the platform cage via a wire rope or cable.

Palfinger pleaded guilty that it failed to take steps necessary to ensure Nationwide was provided with adequate information about the crane and its operations.

Nationwide pleaded guilty that it failed to ensure that contracted workers were not exposed to risks to their safety, health, and welfare and failed to ensure the winch crane was in a safe condition.

Victim impact statements

Mr Costelloe read out a victim impact statement written by Mr O’Herlihy’s partner Therese Wigsten, mother of their children Conor, 10, and Katie, 7, who all travelled to the court hearing from their home in Sweden.

“Conor was three years old and Katie was six months when their Dad died, we were not the ‘typical or normal’ family because our son has a progressive mitochondrial disease and has special needs, he needs full-time help with everything,” wrote Ms Wigsten.

“My children have lost one of the most important persons in their life, their Dad; Katie didn't even get to know him, Katie will never experience how it is to be ‘Daddy’s girl’."

Katie Wigsten wrote how “life would have been more beautiful and nicer if Dad was alive, we would have been a family of four, he could help me with homework and pick me up from school, and if I could turn back time I would tell Dad never to take the job so he could be with us”.

Conor Wigsten wrote: “I miss my Dad, I wish he was here to help me, to carry me and play with me, I wish he could help me in school.”

Bryan Whelan’s bother John Paul Whelan told the court: “What haunts us most as a family, other than being without Bryan, is the tragic circumstances of his death, it is a constant and conscious effort that weighs tirelessly on each of us to not dwell on Bryan’s final moments of fear and distress as we know he fought to survive on that fateful day.

“While we are relieved that responsibility was accepted by Palfinger Ireland and Nationwide Crane Hire, we have suffered immeasurable grief and heart-breaking loss, but it is our hope that lessons have been learnt and other families will not have to endure the torture and turmoil of such a catastrophic event which could have been avoided.”

Judge Tom O’Donnell said it would be “inappropriate” to deliver an immediate judgment given he had listened to a “significant amount of evidence and deeply poignant victim impact statements”.

He adjourned sentencing to October 7.