The Carrigaline branch of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has organised a vigil service tonight Wednesday, April 16, for a local five-year-old boy who remains in hospital following a farm accident.

According to local councillors for the Carrigaline area, Audrey Buckley and Úna McCarthy, the child is understood to have suffered serious injury after he was kicked by livestock on the family farm in Minane Bridge, Co. Cork, last Sunday, April 13.

The boy was airlifted from the farm to Cork University Hospital for medical treatment following the incident, but he has since been transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, where he remains in critical condition.

Speaking about the impact of the news on the wider Carrigaline community, Cllr. Úna McCarthy said: "The whole farming community and the entire community is deeply saddened by the news of the farm accident and are standing in solidarity with the boy's family.

"We are hoping and praying for a full recovery. My thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time."

The vigil will be held at 8:00p.m today at the Holy Trinity church in Crosshaven, Co. Cork, offering a chance for locals, particularly those engaged within the farming community, to gather in prayer on behalf of the child and to offer their support to his family.

Church of Ireland rector of Templebreedy, Reverend James Power, who serves the parishes of Crosshaven and Nohoval, will be conducting tonight's prayer service, with assistance from Fr. James McSwinney, parish priest of the area.

He told Agriland that the vigil was arranged by the Carrigaline branch of the IFA on behalf of the wider farming community, who the rector said were devastated by the news, particularly due to the nature of the accident.

"It is an incident that has clearly touched local community, understandably because it was a farming accident and they will fully understand the implications of such," Rev. Power said.

He stressed that the vigil is a "service of prayer" as opposed to a mass, and will not include a eucharistic component.