A severe spinal injury left Andrew Brennan paralysed and on a ventilator, but he is determined to find a new path in life and be of service.

ALTHOUGH not yet 40, Andrew Brennan is considering ways that he can be of service in the world.

Andrew had an accident on a farm at Gubbeen, near Schull, on May 13th last, which resulted in a very serious injury to his neck.

He didn’t lose consciousness when he fell and didn’t have any other bruises or scratches on his body. But he did fracture the vertebrae in his neck which led to a spinal cord rupture.

‘When you talk about spinal injuries, you talk about which vertebrae it happened at, and Andrew’s injury happened at C4 level,’ Alex, his big brother, explained.

‘That is one of the more severe spinal injuries. It means that Andrew is tetraplegic and that most of the movement and sensation from his shoulders down has been lost.’

Initially, it meant the control of his diaphragm, his breathing, was lost as well and he was placed on a ventilator, and also needed assistance swallowing. 

With a C4 level injury it is not always guaranteed that control of one’s diaphragm and breathing will come back, and the same with swallowing.

Andrew before his accident.

Initially, Andrew was on a ventilator round-the-clock, but one of the first challenges he set for his recovery was to wean himself off the breathing apparatus.

And, remarkably, with the assistance of the team in the intensive care unit at the Mater Hospital in Dublin, Andrew achieved that within the first month.

Alex said: ‘One of the first victories for him was to be able to breathe again.’ 

As the big brother by seven years, Alex, who is based in New Zealand but has been back home to Dublin and Schull a lot since last May, recalls the unusually early calls he received in quick succession from Andrew’s partner, Rosie Gingell, and from his dad, David, quickly afterwards on May 13th, 2025.

‘I immediately called home and learned that my father and Rosie were driving to the Mater in Dublin after Andrew had been airlifted from the farm.’ 

Andrew is from Dublin but he has been living in Schull for more than 15 years. And, as he said himself: ‘From the moment I first arrived in West Cork I have felt that this is where my heart and soul belonged.’

Tom and Giana Ferguson are the head of the household at Gubbeen Farm, but it’s also home to the three siblings: Fingal, Clovis and Rosie. 

Alex describes how Andrew’s whole life was very much defined by the physical world. ‘Since he left university every decision that he made and every life choice that he made involved taking the option that was most embodied and physical, whether that was working on the farm initially, and then working with his hands, making furniture.

‘He spent a lot of time working on the Gubbeen dairy farm and then, over the last few years, he taught himself to be a furniture maker and has been making absolutely beautiful hand-crafted pieces.

Alex, Andrew and their dad David.

‘That was very much a vocation for him,’ said Alex. ‘He really poured his soul into mastering that craft. Every minute of every day that he could he would spend learning a new technique, or he would spend the time scouring the country to find the best Irish timber, and then he would take an enormous amount of time on each piece of furniture that he made.

‘He had stopped working on the farm but continued to help out a couple of days a week doing the milking because he had decided his main passion was the built environment, be it making furniture or building work. He felt that crafting the built environment was his calling.’

Given that level of passion, that commitment, Alex said: ‘If you were to compare it to someone who was used to graphic designing on a computer, or writing, they would be able to continue doing that to some extent despite an injury like this.

‘But, for Andrew, he lost an awful lot with the injury. In some ways he lost his identity as well. He has always been a very self-sufficient man and everything that he has built up in his life has been around making himself independent and self-sufficient. 

‘It has been a huge shift for him to need someone to help him eat, for example. Literally everything that Andrew needs to do he needs someone to help him.

‘I think one of the things that Andrew wants more than anything is to be able to be of service in the world,’ said Alex.

‘That is going to involve reinventing himself and finding a completely new path. There are some days when he is able to connect with that determination, and other days when it is
harder.’

Andrew’s many friends at Skibbereen Rugby Club showed their support for their former team mate by setting up a Tractor Run GoFundMe campaign, and they have collected in excess of €50,000 so far, but there is also a dedicated website called the Andrew Brennan Trust: andrewbrennantrust.com, which can receive donations online.

‘When something like this happens, family and friends are galvanised into a very clear purpose of supporting what is an incredibly difficult situation,’ Alex stated.

Andrew togging out with Skibbereen Rugby Club.

‘One of the consequences of an injury like this is that it has an enormous financial cost, and Andrew is going to realistically need round-the-clock care for the rest of his life.

‘His house is going to need to be adapted. He is going to have to have adapted vehicles, adaptive technology doing everything. That involves a huge infrastructure and effort in a way that none of us would ever have imagined the kind of cost.’

Alex also spoke of a different kind of generosity when he said: ‘Rosie is in Dublin with Andrew 24 hours a day. She hasn’t left his side and has been the most incredible support.

‘Since the accident happened, Rosie stared it full in the face. She never blinked and never took a step backwards. She has been the model of what a good partner is.