Farmer (74) dies after being gored by a bull

AN ELDERLY man was killed after being gored by a bull which attacked him from behind as he tended to cattle.

John Reynolds (74), a respected farmer in Ballinhassig, Co Cork, suffered multiple injuries in the accident on Saturday evening and was pronounced dead before he could be rushed to hospital.

It was the latest in a series of fatal farm accidents across Ireland over recent weeks.

The accident occurred at Rising Sun, some 10km outside Cork city, at around 6pm on Saturday.

Mr Reynolds was the brother of Neilus Reynolds, one of the key volunteers with the Ballinhassig Village Association.

“My brother John was killed by a bull on the old family homestead at the Rising Sun yesterday. May he rest in peace,” Mr Reynolds posted in a social media tribute.

Senator Tim Lombard paid tribute to the deceased.

“The Reynolds family are very well known within the Cork farming community. This is a terrible tragedy and my deepest sympathies are with his family, neighbours, friends and the community at this very difficult time.”

The elderly farmer was feeding cattle when he was apparently attacked from behind by the Friesian bull and suffered serious chest and head injuries.

Two other men came to Mr Reynolds’s assistance and managed to get the bull away from him.

Despite desperate efforts to assist the injured man, he was pronounced dead at the scene before he could be rushed to Cork University Hospital (CUH).

Gardaí said the incident is being treated as a tragic accident and a file will be prepared for the Cork coroner.

The Health and Safety Authority will conduct an investigation as is routine in workplace accidents.

It is the second fatal goring accident in Cork in the space of just five weeks.