A man in his late 60s has died following an incident during a sale at Loughrea Mart yesterday afternoon (Saturday, September 23).
The mart in Co. Galway was hosting its autumn cattle show and sale when it is understood that a bullock jumped out from the sales ring into the crowd.
The injured man, who was standing at the ring at the time of the incident, was rushed by ambulance to University Hospital Galway (UHG) where he later passed away.
Gardaí confirmed that both the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and the local coroner have been informed.
In a statement, a garda spokesperson told Agriland: “Gardaí in Loughrea are investigating the death of a man following an incident at a cattle mart in Loughrea on Saturday, September 23, 2023.
“A male in his late 60s was injured following an incident while the mart was in progress at approximately 4:25p.m.
“He was taken by ambulance to UHG where he was later pronounced deceased. The HSA and coroner have been notified,” the spokesperson added.
Mart
Earlier this month, Clones Mart in Co. Monaghan announced that it had improved its safety features following an incident in June, when a heifer jumped into the sales rostrum.
A video circulated widely around social media at the time showed a heifer jumping from the sales ring into the rostrum, where three people were standing, including mart staff.
The video showed one of the men acting quickly to open a door at the back of the rostrum to allow the animal to make its way safely out.
Nobody was injured in the incident.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the mart said: “After our animal episode a few weeks back and while it was the first time in 50 plus years for something like this to happen, we wanted to make sure it never happened again.
“So, for the safety of our staff and customers, we raised the rostrum by 12 inches, protected it with a high bar and put a higher bar right around the ring.”