29-year-old Bryan Whelan of O'Briensbridge in Co Clare, and father of two Timothy O' Herlihy, also known as TJ, aged 36 from Castleisland Co. Kerry, both drowned when the steel cage they were working in collapsed and fell into the River Shannon on the afternoon of August 29, 2015.
Both men were carrying out maintenance work on Thomond Bridge located beside the city's King John's Castle and were standing on a steel cage platform suspended by a crane over the river, when the cage suddenly fell down into the water, trapping the two men underneath. A third man survived after he managed to escape and was rescued by Limerick search and rescue teams who responded to the emergency.
At Limerick Circuit Criminal Court today, Luke Carbery on behalf of Palfinger Ireland Limited based in Tullamore Co Offaly, and Nationwide Crane hire director Brendan Rainsford, formerly known as Cussons Crane hire, located at Dock Road Limerick, each entered guilty pleas to breaches of the health and safety act, following an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority into the incident.
Judge Tom O'Donnell adjourned sentencing until 27 July when the crane involved in the incident on the day will be brought to the precincts of the court for his inspection, and to hear about how it operated and what went wrong on the day which lead to the tragic accident, along with any other exhibits and evidence relevant to what happened.