Tragic start to May as 10 die in accidents
Eight died on the roads while a boating accident in Mayo and a workplace death in Kerry completed the tragic toll.
The road deaths since Thursday included:
* Six were in their 20s, all male.
* One was a 12-year-old boy.
* One was a seven-year-old boy.
The weekend’s road death toll is already three times that of last year despite a major garda operation aimed at speed and dangerous driving.
Operation Taisteal, involving at least 5,500 checkpoints, will last until today, when the bulk of travellers will be returning home.
Of the three road deaths on Friday and Saturday, two were driving motorbikes.
Two young men were killed on Saturday. Edward Culleton, 24, died in a single vehicle accident near Campile, New Ross, Co Wexford at 11pm. Mr Culleton, from Broomhill, Fethard on Sea, Co Wexford, died when the car he was driving struck a ditch.
Earlier on Saturday, a 25-year-old man died in a motorcycle accident at Blanchardstown Road South in west Dublin. Mark Grogan, from Sheepmore Way, Blanchardstown, was fatally injured when his bike hit a kerb at 4.28am.
On Friday evening, 28-year-old Jason Carpenter died when his motorbike was in a collision with a car in the Crumlin area of south Dublin. He was just yards from his house at John McCormack Avenue at 7.15pm when the accident happened.
Meanwhile, a single man in his 20s died following an accident at work neat Listowel. It is understood he was working with ESB poles at Lispole when one fell on him on Saturday evening. The ESB, in a statement, said the company was co-operating fully with the health and safety authority who are conducting an investigation.
Also on Saturday, a 54-year-old man died in a boating accident on Lough Mask, Co Mayo. John O’Hara, Charlestown, Co Mayo, drowned when the boat he was in overturned at around 4.30pm. Another man made it to rocks and was later rescued.
Operation Taisteal runs until midnight tonight and targets speeding, drink-driving and non-wearing of seat-belts.
Over the Easter bank holiday weekend, gardaí issued 6,230 notices for speeding, as well as 1,740 for not wearing seatbelts.
Gardaí also detected just under 350 incidents of careless and dangerous driving and carried out 287 arrests for drink-driving.
More than 18,000 motorists have been issued with penalty points for speeding since the system was introduced.
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