A WOMAN HAS paid tribute to her partner who died in a workplace incident at a meat factory in Co Tipperary, describing him as the “most wonderful man”.

Antoinette Hyland described as “horrific” hearing that the the love of her life Patrick Gleeson died earlier this month on 9 March while installing machinery at the processing plant in Roscrea.

“He rang me at 2 o’clock that day and said he’d make for home after that job, but I got a call about one hour later to tell me he was gone,” she said. 

“I was just told ‘the news isn’t good’. I knew what it meant straight away.”

The Health and Safety Authority has commenced an investigation to determine the circumstances of the 42-year-old contractor’s death.

They had lived together in Youghal, Co Cork for the past five years, having rekindled an earlier relationship from when they were in their 20s.

Antoinette Hyland and Patrick Gleeson

“We had a bit of a bit of a thing for a few months, and then I went traveling and he said home to look after the farm,” Antoinette recalled.

It was during the pandemic that they crossed paths again via the world of online dating.

“We met for a coffee in my house and he never left.”

Patrick, who came from Pilmore, outside Youghal, had been intending to set up his own business shortly before he died.  

“He’d lined up some jobs to keep him going for the start, he’d bought a van and I’d printed fliers to advertise it around,” Antoinette said. 

“He was really talented with his hands so it looked like it would have been a good fit for him.”

Antoinette said she would always be grateful to Patrick for “leaving a legacy” with his 14-year-old stepson, Eli – for helping him to play guitar and drums, and bringing him to gigs across the country.

Patrick himself had spent several years playing in bands, but he was “devoted” to metal music.

Eli and Patrick at Marina Market in Cork city

In her eulogy for him, delivered at St Ita’s Church in Youghal earlier this month, Antoinette described how music wasn’t “just something he did, it was who he was”.

“He filled the house and our lives with it. It was the way he expressed himself, the way he connected with people and the way he made sense of the world,” she told mourners.

He was also “gifted with his hands,” helping to build two houses for family members, with plans to build one for himself, Antoinnette and Eli.

A lighthearted apology was also delivered to some family members at the service, as Patrick never got “a chance to fix your door”.

“His dream was to build a home for us in the countryside and to rescue animals that needed it. He couldn’t kill a fly,” Antoinette had said.

Patrick, Antoinette and Eli on a hike

Antoinette, who works as a nurse, further paid credit to gardaí for how they handled the hours after Patrick died.

The officer who called, she said, “explained what was happening and was just really kind, taking me through how they were going to get a priest nearby to do the rosary with Patrick’s body on the site”.

“He was spiritual in his way so I think he would have liked that. I’ll always be grateful for it.”

While things are still very raw in the aftermath of Patrick’s death, Antoinette emphasised that she felt she needed to speak to try and “humanise” workplace deaths.

She pointed to recent figures from the HSA showing that fatalities rose sharply from 36 in 2024 to 58 throughout last year.

“I read the news reports and just thought – this was a wonderful man here and you don’t know anything beyond a few sentences,” Antoinnette said.

“But he was a lovely, outgoing man who had this brilliant dark sense of humour and just wanted to help anyone.”