“It’s not okay and it never will be again” – Mother of man killed in work accident

The mother of a young man who died in an accident at work has appealed to companies and organizations across the country to introduce stronger health and safety protections for workers.

Orcan Deasy, 31, worked as an electrician’s assistant and suffered fatal head injuries in 2018 when he fell from a height while doing renovations at a distribution center in Co Mayo.

He was hospitalized after the fall but died of his injuries seven days later.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) brought charges against CMS Distribution, Ivan Kelly Electrics and Vincent Burke Construction, Cloonlee, Knock, following the tragic death of Mr Deasy and all three were fined for health and safety violations.

Born in Castlebare, he was one of four boys and his mother Marian Deasy told the Irish Independent her son was a “quiet”, “artistic” and “multi-talented” man who could “put his hand on anything”.

Ms Deasy said she, her husband Michael, Lorcan’s brothers and his partner Jacqui were “devastated” by his loss and that their lives will never be the same.

“I’ll never forget when I got a call from a friend at 2:25 p.m. on January 8, 2018 and he said there had been an accident,” she said.

Lorcan was initially taken to Galway University Hospital and later taken to Beaumont Hospital by ambulance.

Mrs Deasy said as soon as she saw Lorcan in the hospital “she felt like he wasn’t there” but she is very grateful for the staff at Beaumont “who gave us a week with Lorcan”.

“And gave us time to sort of come to terms with the fact that he was going to die and we knew he was going to die,” she said.

Ms Deasy said “people need to realize” that someone who dies is gone forever and employers have a duty to ensure jobs are safe.

“Every family occasion, everything that happens, Lorcan is missed, he’s not there… It’s all the things we’ll never have. We will never be able to hold Lorcan’s babies,” she added.

Ms Deasy attended an event in Dublin this morning as part of Workers’ Memorial Day Ireland along with her husband Michael and Lorcan’s three brothers Bryan, Jason and Keelan.

Workers’ Memorial Day is an international day of remembrance for those killed or seriously injured in work-related incidents. The memorial service was held at 9 a.m. in the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square.

As part of the event, the Marian Deasy family laid a wreath in honor of Lorcan and all the other workers who were killed on the job.

In Ireland, 481 people were killed in work-related incidents over a ten-year period from 2012 to 2021. So far this year, seven people have been killed in work-related incidents, while 38 people lost their lives in 2021.

“It is an honor to represent Lorcan and to honor the seven families who have lost someone so far this year and we are not even at the end of month four, 38 families who lost someone last year and the 481 affected Families last ten years,’ said Mrs Deasy.

“These are statistics, but look outside the statistics, there are lives that are absolutely decimated and destroyed forever. Nothing in our lives will ever be the same again.”

She added: “All you have to do is check the health and safety website. Everything is there what you need. It’s just about getting the willingness of every single employer that the place you ask someone to come and work is a safe place for them to work.

“But the Irish attitude is ‘ah sure it’ll be alright’. Well, it’s not okay for us, and it will never be the same again.”

The commemoration was organized by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Health and Safety Authority with support from Ibec and the Construction Industry Federation.

Economy Minister Damien English attended the event and said there must be “no complacency about the need to prevent work-related deaths”.

“While having strong health and safety regulations coupled with robust enforcement is crucial, the whole of the response must also include full engagement, collaboration and workplace-level communication between employers and workers,” he added.