Black weekend on the roads

SEVEN people were killed in five car accidents during the bloodiest weekend on the roads since the introduction of penalty points.

A man in his 20s was killed on the Tralee-Listowel road yesterday afternoon.

A mother and her nine-year-old son died when their car collided with a van at Magherafadda, Ballyheane, Castlebar.

Geraldine Neary, 33, and her son Gerard were killed close to their home in Ballyheane at around 9pm on Sunday night .

Their bodies were taken by ambulance to Mayo General Hospital. The driver of the van was treated for minor injuries.

Tom Neary, a butcher in Castlebar, was in the family home when the crash happened and he rushed to the scene.

Mrs Neary’s parents, Sean and Ann McMannanon from Riverdale Court, Castlebar were being comforted by relatives yesterday.

Geraldine Neary worked at Carrig Dun Enterprises in Westport and her son was a third class pupil at Ballyheane National School.

Two men died in an horrific traffic accident in Co Tipperary in the early hours of yesterday morning. The accident happened at 1.15am at Knockroe, Golden, when two cars collided.

The driver of one car, Gerard Horan, aged 41, from Tipperary town, and the passenger in the other vehicle, Thomas McGar, aged 38, from Golden, were killed. A third man is still being treated in Cashel Hospital. His condition was described yesterday as comfortable.

A 20-year-old man was killed in an accident at Drumquill, between Castleblaney and Monaghan town, at 10pm on Sunday night. The man was named as Peter McKenna, 20, from Emyvale in Monaghan.

He was a passenger in a car that collided with another vehicle.

Three others were injured in the smash, one very seriously, and were taken to Drogheda Hospital.

And in Co Donegal, a 21-year-old man lost his life when his car hit a stone wall at 11pm on Sunday night. Mark Connolly, from Kesh, Co Fermanagh, died at the scene of the accident at Grousehall, Pettigo.

Road deaths have fallen dramatically since Transport Minister Seamus Brennan established penalty points last October. Fatal road accidents this year stand at 50 compared to 68 at the same time in 2002. Almost 6,500 drivers have received points on their licence since the scheme was introduced.

Gardaí estimate three times this number have been hit with points that haven’t yet been processed.

Meanwhile, the National Youth Council of Ireland yesterday urged Mr Brennan not to give insurance companies access to penalty point information. NYCI president Kevin Hickey said: “We see no willingness on the part of the insurance industry to reward safe driving. Penalty points are the last bargaining chip left to ensure its cooperation.”