Donegal farmer killed after quad overturned on steep slope, inquest hears - Donegal Daily

A farmer who was mowing rushes on his Donegal farm died after becoming trapped beneath his quad, an inquest has heard.An inquest into the death of Bernard Ward...

A farmer who was mowing rushes on his Donegal farm died after becoming trapped beneath his quad, an inquest has heard.

An inquest into the death of Bernard Ward was held at Ballyshannon Courthouse by Dr Denis McCauley, the Coroner for Donegal.

The 67-year-old died after an accident on his farm at Ballymacahill, Frosses, on April 30, 2025.

Sergeant Stewart Doyle read in the deposition of Ms Natasha Ward, the wife of the deceased. She recalled how she had been married to Mr Ward since 2011 and on the morning of April 30 he was working outside.

The couple had lunch together at around 1pm before Bernard returned outside. He was mulching rushes and wanted to get the job finished.

Their lunch that day was the last time Ms Ward saw her husband alive, she said.

Throughout the afternoon, she could hear the quad and mulcher working on the farm.

She decided not to call for Bernard around 7pm as she knew he was keen to finish the job, but at 9pm she began preparing dinner as it was starting to get dark.

She called Bernard on WhatsApp at 9.22pm, attempting to ring him four times, but there was no answer.

“I wasn’t too worried as I knew the machine was noisy and he mightn’t have heard the phone,” she said.

However, a short time later, she went outside to look for him and could not hear any noise.

At the other side of the hill, Ms Ward saw her husband lying down with the quad on top of him. She started to call out for help.

The inquest heard the harrowing recollection of Ms Ward touching her husband’s hand, but he was cold and did not answer. She attempted to move the quad but it was so heavy and she contacted her neighbours for assistance.

The deposition of Pauric Gavigan, was read into the inquest by Sergeant Doyle. He told how he was in his parents home when his mother received a call from Ms Ward seeking help as her husband was trapped under a quad. Mr Gavigan and his brother, Eamon, rushed over and lifted the quad off Mr Ward, who was deceased. The engine of the quad was cold and not running while the ignition was on, he said.

Ms Ward recalled one of the Gavigan men telling her “Natasha, he is dead” and she was crying beside her husband.

Fuel price pressure mounts in Donegal as Sinn Féin demands tax cuts

Geraldine Mullan 'proud' and thankful to donate €4,000 to Donegal Camino

Garda Eoghan McAllister recalled how he was at Ballyshannon Garda Station when a call came in at 9.44pm. Garda McAllister contacted colleagues and Glenties Garda Station. While Garda McAllister and a colleague were on the way to the scene, they received an update that the man involved was deceased. Mr Ward was pronounced deceased at 10.15pm.

Gardai, the Fire Service and the Ambulance Service all attended the scene. Garda McAllister said Ms Natasha Ward was “visibly distraught” when they arrived.

He said the location was up a “steep hill”. It appeared, Garda McAllister said, as if Mr Ward had been travelling downhill and he lost control.

Gardai made arrangements for the HSA to attend and the Scenes of Crime department of An Garda Siochána was also sought.

The quad and the mower were conveyed to a storage yard for the purpose of a PSV inspection.

The inquest heard that the post-mortem showed that Mr Ward died of mechanical asphyxia as a result of a crush injury to the chest.

Dr McCauley said that while Mr Ward had stents inserted in 2017 following a heart attack, they were working and there was no sign of a cardiac issue on the day in question.

He said that the examination noted the presence of petechiae - mild bruising when the body doesn’t get enough from the lungs. He said there was internal bruising of the lungs and the petechia appeared on his face and upper chest.

“If it had landed on his arms or legs, he would’ve been trapped but okay,” Dr McCauley said. “Because it was on his chest, he was just unable to breathe.”

Dr McCauley told the inquest that the evidence from the Hillsborough Disaster - when 97 football supporters lost their lives after a crush at an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in 1989 - was that the process from the crush would have been “at most, two minutes”. Dr McCauley said that Mr Ward would have been shocked, but quickly lost consciousness.

HSA inspector Rachel Simms said that Mr Ward appeared to be travelling downhill after coming over a crest. Ms Simms said there was a steep slope of around 40-50 degrees.

The quad was manufactured in 2000 and was in “reasonable condition for its age except for a brake issue”, she said. The right brake lever, which operated the front brakes, was seized, while the other was functional. She said that the HSA determined that the quad was in a dangerous and defective condition and unusable on a public road.

Dr McCauley said Mr Ward was doing something he had done previously and, for some reason, lost control of the vehicle and the quad ended up coming across his chest. He said Mr Ward would have been unaware of what was happening as he would have lost consciousness “quite quickly”.

Dr McCauley added that unfortunately Mr Ward did not have the use of his front brakes and while the exact mechanics of the accident were not known this was “not ideal when mowing a slope”.

The Coroner said that the cause of death was mechanical asphyxia - a lack of oxygen due to the inability to breathe properly - as a result of a crush injury to the chest. Dr McCauley said that Mr Ward’s death was “an accident”.