'It was first time Patrick, 16 never wore a helmet when he died in quad accident..'

Farmer breaks down at inquest as he tells of finding son after fall

- DAVID RALEIGH

A FARMER broke down yesterday as he told an inquest his son died after a quad bike fall on the only occasion he drove the vehicle without a helmet.

Patrick McKeogh, 16, fell from the quad as he was retrieving cattle that had broken loose from the family's dairy farm.

The inquest heard it was likely the quad hit a bump on a gravel road separating two fields which caused the boy to be thrown from the vehicle and onto his head.

Patrick suffered a catastrophic brain injury in the impact and he died from his injuries at University Hospital Limerick two days later.

His father Martin broke down as he told the hearing: "In case you think he was careless, he wasn't. He had a helmet, he always wore it, and that was the only time he didn't wear it."

Mr McKeogh said he got up at 4.45am to discover cattle had got loose from their land, Tipperary, at Inchadrinagh, Ballina, Co on June 28, 2021 and they were roaming towards a public road.