Village struggles to deal with fatal road collision

ON A day when villagers should have been discussing the New Year’s Eve entertainment in Silvermines’ only pub, Hickey’s, they were instead huddled in groups discussing the tragic events of the previous night.

The three dead boys were all friends on their way to Silvermines, a picturesque, sleepy village nestled at the start of the Slieve Felim way, a walking trail, when the car they were in struck a tree.

Ringing in the new year in Hickey’s pub is usually at the heart of celebrations for the village, but the festive feeling soon turned to disbelief when news of the deaths of three young teenagers filtered through.