Four killed on roads as man dies in mountain fall
A man in his early 20s was pronounced dead at the scene after his motorcycle was involved in a collision with a car at Newcastle, Ardfinnan Co Tipperary, at 5.50pm last evening.
No one else was injured in the collision.
Five people were injured in a two car head-on crash at Strokestown, Co Roscommon, last night. None of those injured was critical.
Two Polish men, understood to be aged 22 and 28, died when the car in which they were travelling left the road and struck a pole on the Roscrea Road outside Templemore in Co Tipperary just before midnight on Saturday.
No other vehicle was involved. Both men are believed to have died instantly and they were pronounced dead at the scene. Garda forensic collision investigators spent most of yesterday examining the scene in an effort to establish the exact cause of the accident.
In Ennis, gardaí appealed for witnesses after a motorcyclist died when his bike went out of control and struck a ditch on the main Ennis to Kildysart Road at Ballaghafadda West near Clarecastle at 1pm on Saturday.
The 35-year-old victim, Michael McInerney of Cahercalla Estate, Kilrush Road, Ennis, Co Clare, originally from Caher in east Clare, was rushed by ambulance to Ennis General Hospital but was pronounced dead.
Inspector John Galvin appealed for information at Ennis Garda Station: 065 68 48100.
The deaths brought to 34 the number of fatalities on roads so far this year.
Meanwhile, gardaí released the name of the man who died after an apparent fall on Carrauntuohill in Co Kerry.
The body of John McHale, 41, from Newport in Co Mayo, was found by a mountain rescue team near the Hag’s Glen area of the mountain at around 10am on Saturday. Rescuers said it appears he had sustained a substantial fall.
Mr McHale was well- equipped when he set out on Thursday, intending to camp overnight, but the alarm was raised when he failed to rendezvous with friends who were climbing in the area on Friday.
Thirty members of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT), along with a team from Tralee, mounted a massive search of walking routes, gullies and valleys and tackled the high mountain lakes area of the Reeks until midnight on Friday.
The search resumed early on Saturday and the body was recovered at around 10am near Loch Coimín Uachtarach. KMRT spokesman Don Murphy said it appeared as if Mr McHale had lost his way and had sustained “a substantial fall”.
It was not clear when the fall may have occurred. Camping equipment was found with the body.
Rescue teams carried the body below cloud level where a coastguard helicopter was waiting to take the body to Kerry General Hospital for a postmortem examination.
