Dark day on our roads

THREE generations of the one family were killed yesterday in an horrific crash on another black day on Irish roads

Four people, including a grandmother and a three-year-old boy, died instantly in a multi-vehicle pile-up on the Cork-Dublin road at Kilcoran, near Cahir.

They were named as grandmother Mary Dalton, 71, a widow from Ballindangan, her daughters Mary Downes, 31, from Mitchels-town and Kathleen Quish , 47, from Shanballymore.

Mrs Downes’ three-year-old son Robbie also died, while her seven-year-old son Conor remained in a critical condition at Cork University Hospital.

The family were on a shopping trip to Dublin, and planned a visit to Dublin Zoo, when the early morning crash occurred.

The tragedy sent shockwaves throughout the greater Mitchelstown area where the family lived.

Two lorry drivers were admitted to Cashel General Hospital, but one was last night transferred to Cork University Hospital, where his condition was described as critical but stable.

The scene of carnage was described by one onlooker as “sheer hell”. The debris from the mangled wreckage was spewed over a short stretch of road. One motorist caught in the tailback fainted at the scene.

Gardaí in Cahir engaged a specialised telescopic service along with the garda helicopter to provide aerial evidence to assist in the investigation. Appealing for public assistance from anyone travelling on the route between 7am and 7.30am, Superintendent Mary Fitzgerald said the investigation was still at an early stage.

However, the accident scene pointed to a Cork- bound truck being on the wrong side of the road.

The accident occurred at 7.30am, just before daybreak, and weather conditions were fair. The crash occurred on a straight stretch of road, close to the Kilcoran Lodge Hotel.

North Cork curate Fr Robin Morrissey said last night: “Neighbouring parishes in the Mitchels-town area are devastated.

“Family members over three generations have died and although people are shocked, I don’t think they have yet comprehended the scale of the tragedy.

The Ballindangan-based curate said it was a terrible time for the families. “I can assure them their grief is shared by everyone in the community,” he said.

As Mrs Dalton’s neighbour, farmer Jimmy Corbett, wiped tears from his eyes, he said: “We have never experienced anything like this before.”

The deceased were removed to Clonmel General Hospital, where postmortem examinations will be conducted today.

The N8, one of the country’s busiest roads, was closed to traffic along the south Tipperary stretch for almost 10 hours as gardaí commenced a major probe. Four lorries, a van and the metallic blue Audi car in which the family-of-five were travelling, were involved in the crash.

In a separate accident yesterday morning, a 30-year-old Sligo man was killed in a head-on collision at Tubbercurry, Co Sligo.

The National Safety Council’s Brian Farrell said: “It was a bad day for road safety. Travelling on our roads is part of our daily lives and something we take for granted. But, within an instance, lives can be lost and for those left to grieve, their lives are shattered for ever more.”