'I can blame no one only myself': Johnny Healy-Rae crushes hand in farm machinery

The son of TD Danny Healy-Rae was fitting a mower onto a tractor when his left hand got caught by a hydraulic ram

Johnny Healy-Rae runs the Healy-Rae Plant Hire company with his brother Dan, employing about 70 staff.  File picture: Dan Linehan

Kerry councillor Johnny Healy-Rae had a lucky escape after his hand was crushed while he was operating machinery — sustaining injuries that could have been a lot worse. 

Mr Healy-Rae, a councillor for the Kenmare area and the son of TD Danny Healy-Rae, was fitting a mower onto a tractor last Thursday evening in what should have been a straightforward task.

His phone rang in his pocket, and without thinking, he went to reach for it. His left hand then got caught by a hydraulic ram.

The split-second accident saw four of his fingers on his left hand crushed.

But for the quick thinking of his son Daniel, the injuries would have been much more severe, as the eight-year-old managed to pull a lever to release the hand.

“I can blame no one only myself,” Mr Healy-Rae said.

Mr Healy-Rae has been around such machinery for much of his life and his uncle, Michael, is minister for State with responsibility for farm safety.

The councillor runs the Healy-Rae Plant Hire company with his brother Dan, employing about 70 staff. 

He said health and safety courses are a weekly event and that the office is full of health and safety notices.

However, he said human beings will always make errors.  

The father of four makes a point to have his children with him on the farm yard and around machinery to get them used to it and warn them of the dangers.

On the day in question, Mr Healy Rae said he had been dealing with more complex machinery problems, and fitting the mower onto the tractor was a relatively small task. 

He said perhaps he would have been more alert if it was a bigger task.

“'Tis a belt in the head I should get really for not watching what I was doing,” he told Radio Kerry on Wednesday.  

His wife, Caroline, put an icepack on the injured hand, and his brother drove him to the emergency department in Tralee, where he was treated. 

On his way there, it struck him his injuries could be severe.  

“I’m extremely lucky, and I’m grateful,” he said. “I’m on the phone a lot. My phone rang — I could have left it ring.

“Concentrate on one thing at a time would be the only small bit of advice I could give."