Farmer, 55, who died after getting into difficulty sourcing water for cattle from Cork river named locally

A FARMER accidentally drowned in a West Cork river on Wednesday evening while getting water for his cattle.

Named locally as Eugene McSweeney, 55, from Ballyboy near Dunmanway, Co Cork, was a well-respected member of the local farming community.

He was drawing water from the River Bandon to fill tanks for his cattle, something he had been doing regularly since the drought conditions, brought on by the current high temperatures, took hold.

It’s understood he was in the water, which is known for its dangerous deep holes, and he went into one of these, resulting in his drowning.

A relative saw McSweeney’s parked tractor and investigated where he was. The alarm was raised, and Gardai and emergency service personnel went to the scene, where the body was recovered from the river.

McSweeney was pronounced dead, and his body was taken to Cork University Hospital morgue, where a postmortem examination will be carried out.

Gardai are treating the incident as a tragic accident and have notified both the Health and Safety Authority and the local coroner.

Gardai will now prepare a report for the coroner’s court.

McSweeney was a single man, and he was predeceased by his mother, Teresa, last January.

The local community are in shock, and one farmer said the drought is causing extreme hardship for farmers. Of the four wells on his land, three have dried up, and they are rationing what is left in the remaining one.

Cork South West TD Michael Collins described McSweeney’s death as “very sad news”.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, he said: “We all have to be so careful around water in this weather, but it’s difficult when people have to retrieve water for their animals,

“There is a serious drought at the moment and farmers are under severe pressure to make sure their animals are catered for.

“My sincere sympathies to his family at this time for their tragic loss, and to his neighbours and friends,”