Brother of tribunal judge killed in US

A CONNEMARA man has been killed in a building accident in the US.

A CONNEMARA man has been killed in a building accident in the US.

Michael Declan Faherty, a brother of planning tribunal Judge Mary Faherty, died when a 10ft trench collapsed on him as he was working on a drainage project in Lowell, northern Indiana.

Local police say Mr Faherty (47), originally from Tully, Co Galway, was hired to dig a trench to channel water away from a sump pump at the backyard of a house. Along with another man, he was digging the trench last Friday when it collapsed.

The other man climbed out and used the backhoe of a mechanical digger to pull the soil off his co-worker, but he was unsuccessful and Mr Faherty died at the scene. Fire and rescue officials, who had to brace the walls of the trench before they started digging, removed Mr Faherty’s body about five hours later.

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The coroner’s office in Local County has ruled his death accidental.

Mr Faherty, a carpenter who came to the US in 1987, worked in the construction industry in Porter County, Indiana, for over 20 years.

Paul Cullen

Paul Cullen

Paul Cullen is a former heath editor of The Irish Times.