A former regional president of St Vincent de Paul in the north-east has died following a farming accident at his home in Kells, Co Meath.
It is believed that 59-year-old Michael O’Keefe was overcome by fumes after going near a slurry tank to retrieve a fallen mobile phone yesterday evening.
Vice-president during Mr O’Keefe’s term at St Vincent de Paul (SVP), John Rooney, said that words cannot describe his grief.
“It is very tragic. Michael was such a larger than life character and had so much energy,” he said. “I enjoyed my time working with him as vice-president. He had high hopes for the future of the SVP in Ireland and had some great ideas.”
Mr O’Keefe was known in the Drogheda area and throughout the north-east region for his work with SVP.
Mayor of Drogheda, Richie Culhane, has expressed sympathy on behalf of locals.
“He did great work in the region and in Drogheda and he will be sadly missed,” he said. “I would like to offer my condolences to his family and to all the people he worked with.
“He would have brought a great awareness of the work of St Vincent de Paul in Drogheda and the region. This is a tragic loss,” he said.
Former president of SVP in Drogheda, Michael Grogan, also said everyone is trying to come to terms with the tragic news and that the death of Mr O’Keefe “will be a huge loss”.
“He was a man of total dedication and did a lot of good work,” he said. “Everyone is in shock over this.”
Mr O’Keefe had previously lost one of his legs from the knee down in a farming accident several years ago.
He had recently returned from visiting his son in Australia and is survived by his wife and two children.