Father of three died preparing light for mother’s wake

Anton McNulty

A FATHER of three died after he was struck by a street lamp which he was preparing to erect to cater for mourners at his mother’s wake.
The tragic circumstances of the death of Patrick Bowens (44) of Cloonfad, Ballyhaunis, Co Roscommon was recalled at yesterday’s sitting of Dublin Coroner’s Court, where his inquest was held.
The accident occurred on October 19, 2015 when he was attempting to take the 20 foot street lamp — which stood in a cube of concrete — off the back of a trailer.
The inquest heard that Mr Bowens and Christopher Swanick were attempting to take the lamp off the trailer using a strap when the concrete fell to the ground and sent the street lamp into the air.
“I met Pa [Patrick] and arranged to erect a street light for his mother’s funeral. He picked up the light which was between 18 and 20 ft long with a concrete cube at the bottom. Pa drove the jeep and I drove behind him in my van,” Christopher Swanick said.
“We were going to position it where we needed the light. We were lifting it off with the aid of a strap. It came to the edge of the trailer and then it stood up in a pincer effect.”
Mr Bowens was thrown into the air by the momentum of the lamp and the incident was witnessed by his brother, Michael.
“It threw Pa [Patrick] up in the air, he hit the trailer on the way down, he fell lifeless to the ground,” Michael Bowens said.
Patrick Bowens was rushed by air ambulance to Beaumont Hospital where medics operating on swelling in his brain found he had suffered an unsurvivable brain injury. He died two days later in hospital.
The cause of death was hypoxic ischemic brain injury due to severe head injury due to a fall and Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane returned a verdict of accidental death.
The Bowen family suffered further tragedy when Patrick Bowens’ wife Elaine Bowens sadly passed away due to an illness in February just weeks before her husband’s inquest.
The coroner commended the donation of Mr Bowens’ organs and sympathised with the family on the ‘terrible series of tragedies’ that have befallen them.