Focus now on National Ploughing site owner's marriage after inquest verdict

The High Court might be asked to make a ruling on the marriage between Offaly farmer Joseph Grogan and Lisa Flaherty, the legal representative for the Grogan family has indicated.

“The focus from here on in will now be the marriage and the circumstances of that marriage. That will be the focus,” said Damien Tansey, SC.

Mr Tansey was speaking after the Offaly County Coroner, Raymond Mahon, returned a narrative verdict in the inquest into the death of Mr Grogan, the Screggan farmer who died at 75 on April 15, 2023.

Mr Grogan (pictured below), whose land was used for the National Ploughing Championships in 2016, 2017 and 2018, died after being diagnosed with stage four cancer of the stomach but a pathologist told the inquest that the cause of death could not be ascertained.

A post mortem had been limited by the embalming of the body after Mr Grogan's death, the inquest was told.

Mr Mahon said there were two verdicts available to him, an open verdict or a narrative verdict.

Opting for a narrative verdict he said he would refer to the most probable likely cause of death.

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He said death was due to the probability of infection in a person who had stage four high grade Non Hodgkins lymphoma.

He said Mr Grogan had been receiving chemo therapy and his immune system was compromised.

In his comments to journalists out Tullamore Courthouse, venue of the inquest, Mr Tansey said evidence had been given that the deceased had been responding “excellently” to treatment and the cancer lesion in his stomach had receded.

The family's concern was that in the 10 days between the last chemo session on April 5, 2023 and the death on April 15, 2023, medical personnel had not been engaged for Mr Grogan and the only time he left the house beforehand was for his marriage.

He said he would now reflect on the decision of the coroner and the evidence, some of which had been “quite revealing”.

“The only entity with the authority to challenge or to make a judgment on the validity of the marriage is the High Court,” he said.

Sean Grogan, first cousin of the deceased, said the family remained “grievously concerned” about the tone and content of what they had heard during the inquest.

Those concerns had first been raised when the funeral arrangements “were stopped and changed”.

Mr Grogan said: “Really we just want to find that our cousin was treated properly in his dying days.”

He said the question of the next step would be left to the Grogans' legal expert.

Sean Grogan also spoke of his late cousin's love of machinery more than farming so he leased out the farm and consequently it was used as the venue for the National Ploughing (pictured below) for three years.

He and his two brothers, Padraig and Alo, were involved when the Ploughing took place. “When Anna May calls you must answer,” he remarked, a reference to National Ploughing Association (NPA) managing director Anna May McHugh.

The NPA announced last year that the Ploughing will return to the farm of Lisa Flaherty Grogan this year. It takes place from September 16-18.