Family of man who died in suspected factory explosion criticise delays over criminal prosecution

Seán McCárthaigh

A solicitor for the family of a Cork man who suffered fatal injuries after a suspected explosion at a Cork factory over three years ago has criticised delays in determining if any criminal prosecution will arise out of his death.

John Murphy (41), a married father from Condonstown, Watergrasshill, Co Cork, sustained extensive burns after the incident at the Stryker plant in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork on April 18th 2023.

Murphy was working at the time for a facilities management company, Apelona, on contract with Stryker – a US medical device manufacturer.

He died almost two months later on June 9th 2023 in the specialist burns unit in St James’s Hospital in Dublin, where he had been transferred after originally being treated at Cork University Hospital for 24 hours.

The deceased, who was working on the roof of the Stryker plant at the time of the fatal incident, suffered third-degree burns across 75 per cent of his body.

Murphy was able to make it down off the roof but became unresponsive a short time later and never regained consciousness before his death. Another work colleague was also injured in the same incident.

An inspector with the Health and Safety Authority, Brian Nodwell, told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court that he had no update to report following a previous adjournment of the inquest six months earlier.

Nodwell said the HSA’s file on the investigation into Murphy’s death was still with the DPP.

However, he understood that there had been “substantial progression” in the matter.

Nodwell said he was restricted in what he could say about the case in order not to prejudice any potential proceedings in the future.

The HSA inspector said he understood from the family’s perspective that the case was taking a long time but reassured them it was “being actioned.”

In reply to questions from coroner Clare Keane, Nodwell said the DPP had not asked the HSA to carry out any further investigations.

He applied for a further six-month adjournment of the inquest to await a direction from the DPP but promised he would return to the coroner’s court if there was a further update available sooner.

The inquest heard that the HSA file on the case has been with the DPP since October 2025.

A solicitor for Murphy’s family, Ernest Cantillon, said the deceased’s relatives could not understand why the initial HSA investigation had taken so long.

He pointed out that the deceased’s parents, Seán and Eileen, and other relatives had travelled from Cork to attend each hearing “out of a sense of loyalty and duty.”

Cantillon said there would be a delay of five years in holding the full inquest if there was a decision to have a related prosecution.

“Respectfully that is not a satisfactory situation,” said Cantillon.

He pointed out that Mr Murphy’s family had been told by a representative of his employer, Apelona, about what caused the suspected explosion.

The solicitor said they could not understand why the HSA had taken so long when others were able to establish what happened several years ago.

Cantillon claimed Stryker and the HSA had also demonstrated a lack of respect towards Mr Murphy’s family about their beloved son.

Acknowledging the family’s “horrific experience” and their long wait for answers, Dr Keane said she was limited in what she could do while awaiting a determination from the DPP as she would have to respect the investigatory process.

The coroner granted the application for a further adjournment and listed the case for further mention to February 25th 2027.

Speaking after the hearing, Murphy’s sister, Helena Browne, said her family just wanted to get answers as soon as possible about how and why her brother died.

“We as a family need closure to begin our grieving process,” said Browne.

In March 2024, Murphy’s family initiated High Court proceedings against Stryker Ireland Limited and Apleona Ireland Limited over his death.

A High Court judge also granted their application to have a legal representative attend an engineering inspection of the factory.