Coroner warns farmers about modifications to equipment after tragic death of Kildare businessman

A CORONER has warned farmers to avoid taking “short-cuts” when operating farm equipment following the tragic death of a well-known Kildare businessman and horse enthusiast at his home last year.

Eamonn Egan (61) suffered fatal crush injuries after a tractor loader fell on top of him while he was erecting fencing on lands at his home at Ivy House, Clonfert, Maynooth, Co Kildare on June 2, 2025.

Mr Egan was the chief executive of the Irish division of international insurance firm, Lloyd’s and was also a former amateur jockey.

A prominent figure in business and equestrian circles, the deceased was a former president of the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce, while he was also involved with Horse Sport Ireland and the Irish Pony Club.

An inquest into Mr Egan’s death at Kildare Coroner’s Court on Wednesday heard evidence which suggested that Mr Egan was trying to lower the loader containing a pile of wooden fence posts using a rope attached to a lever in the driver’s cab while he was standing in front of the tractor.

The deceased’s wife, Sarah Egan, described going out looking for her husband early that morning after being contacted by his London-based partner who was concerned that she was unable to get him on his phone.

Ms Egan told the inquest that while she was separated from her husband, they had continued to live with their two children at Ivy House with the deceased living in an apartment on the grounds.

She said they had met through their love of horses and described the loves of her husband’s life as “family, horses and hunting”.

Ms Egan said she discovered her husband's body “pushed into the ground” at 8.50am after searching the lands.

“I knew straight away he was dead,” she added. “He was blue. He was cold. He was dead.” Ms Egan said her last contact with her husband was the previous day around lunchtime when they had tried calling each other.

She had not seen him later that evening as she returned home late with her daughter from a horse show in Millstreet, Co Cork.

In reply to questions from Kildare County Coroner, Loretta Nolan, Ms Egan said her husband would have carried out similar work erecting fences before.

Garda Adam Raitt gave evidence of finding Mr Egan lying face down on the ground near a Massey Ferguson tractor whose front loader, which was full of wooden posts, was on top of him.

Garda Raitt said there was also a piece of rope attached to his body with the other end tied to a lever on the tractor.

A paramedic, Eoin Morton, who pronounced Mr Egan dead at 9.25am said there were no signs of life and rigor mortis had set it.

A public service vehicle inspector, Garda James Keating, said an examination of the Massey Ferguson 390 tractor had found no mechanical vaults with the vehicle.

Garda Keating said he carried out extensive tests on the loader’s hydraulic system and was satisfied that there was no failure which would have caused it to lower to the ground suddenly.

He estimated that it would take the loader six seconds to lower if the lever had been activated by pulling on the rope with the tractor running and even longer if the engine had been switched off.

The results of a postmortem showed Mr Egan died from a traumatic spinal cord injury as a result of multiple fractures caused by crush injuries.

“Quite frankly, he would have been paralysed and killed instantly,” the coroner observed.

Dr Nolan confirmed that no drugs or alcohol were found in toxicology tests performed on the body.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, the coroner said Mr Egan had died as a result of “a series of unfortunate events”.

Dr Nolan said she would also issue a recommendation that people operating farm machinery, especially when on their own, should not make any modifications to vehicles “outside of manufacturers’ best practices”.

The coroner said such changes could potentially result in an unpredictable action with a vehicle that could threaten their lives which was “technically what happened in this case”.

Dr Nolan said she was well aware that farmers sometimes take “short-cuts” and urged them to “take their lives very seriously when operating heavy machinery and particularly when you’re working in isolation”.