The father of an ‘extraordinary little fellow’ killed in an accident on his farm has heartbrokenly told of how Christmas will never be the same without his 7 year old son.
Little James Higgins died on January 19th, 2008 when he fell into a soak-pit on the family farm near Shannonbridge, Co. Offaly. Now, almost seven years later, his father Padraig has urged fellow farmers to learn from his family’s tragic story with a simple message - “a farmyard is not a playground”.
The part-time farmer and Bord na Mona employee, his wife and James’ three brothers, Colm, Anthony and Darrell, have decided to bear all in a heartrending video to raise awareness about the grave safety risks on farms in what has been an horrific year for farm deaths, with 28 already recorded this year - 12 more than in 2013. The video can be viewed on the Embrace Farm website www.embracefarm.com
The video is the second in the ‘What’s Left Behind’ series produced by Embrace FARM, an organisation established by Co. Laois farmer Brian Rohan following the death two years ago of his father Liam to provide support to families bereaved by farm accidents.
In addition to Padraig’s harrowing account, his son Colm (29) tells of the horrific moment he lifted his darling brother out from the freezing cold January water after he and his father had returned from an outside farm and discovered little James’ woollen hat floating in the water.
“Christmas will never be the same. Santy was in the house up to that year,” the teary eyed farmer tells.
“Santy hasn’t come for James since. There’s a space at the table. There’s always a candle lit at the table for Christmas, where James would be sitting. We will never be the same. We will never have that family photograph at weddings or whatever.
Praising the Higgins family for their efforts, Embrace FARM founder Brian Rohan said they had made a remarkable gesture to try and enhance awareness of the risks on farms.
“For the Higgins family to come out and tell their tragic story in this way is an incredible testament to their generosity of spirit. By giving their story they are shedding light on a very dangerous environment for young and old. We just hope now that their story will help others avoid the awful tragedy that has befallen so many this year and every year on Irish farms.
“This entire campaign would not be possible either without the support of ABP. They came to us in the summer and wanted to get involved in supporting what we do in some way and when we came up with this idea they ran with it and have been hugely supportive all the way. We just hope it can make a difference and in doing so are honouring those who died on farms.”