An inquest has heard that a man who was about to do "a good deed" by clearing a roadway at the height of Storm Ophelia last October was killed by a branch from a tree.
Michael Pyke, 31, from Ardfinnan, Co Tipperary, suffered massive head injuries when he was hit by the tree limb on a road during a red weather alert.
Coroner Paul Morris said Mr Pyke had an altruistic motivation when he got out of his car with a chainsaw intending to clear a road at Ballybrado outside Cahir on the afternoon of 16 October 2017.
The jury in the inquest at Clonmel courthouse issued a recommendation, agreed by the Pyke family, that members of the public should stay at home when a red weather alert is in force and also that anyone operating a chainsaw should wear a hard hat.
Mr Pyke was not actually using his chainsaw when he was struck by a tree limb, but it was found beside him on the road where he lay fatally injured, about 100m from the road blockage.
The jury's verdict was of accidental death, in line with the medical evidence given in a deposition by pathologist Dr Fergus McSweeney, that the deceased suffered massive craniocerebral trauma consistent with the impact from the limb of a tree damaged during Storm Ophelia.
Tributes were paid at the inquest to the efforts of gardaí, fire service, county council staff and members of the public to safely remove Mr Pyke's body from the scene, when conditions were extremely hazardous.
At least five trees fell in the immediate vicinity while that operation was in progress.
Mr Pyke is survived by his partner, Nollaig, as well as his father Tony, three brothers and seven sisters.
His mother Moira died 12 years ago.
Offering his condolences to the family, the Coroner Paul Morris said Mr Pyke's intentions on the day represented "volunteerism at its best".
