Road death toll climbs to 74

THE death toll on Irish roads has climbed to 74 after a string of weekend tragedies.

A renowned music teacher and a founder member of RTÉ’s String Quartet, a young woman, and two teenage boys were among the victims. It compares to 91 deaths for the same period last year.

Gardaí in Fermoy have appealed for witnesses after a young woman died following an accident near Mitchelstown in north Cork on Saturday night.

Ciara O’Brien, 26, of Bellview, Fermoy, was fatally injured when the car she was travelling in collided with a second vehicle on the N8 at Cloonlough, just south of Mitchelstown.

In Dublin, a teenager died after a single vehicle collision in Lucan yesterday.

There were five men in the light blue Citroen C3 car at the time. One of them was rushed to James Connolly Memorial Hospital but was pronounced dead later. The other men were recovering from their injuries in the same hospital last night.

A man died in Cork University Hospital on Saturday from the injuries he sustained in a road traffic accident almost two weeks ago.

Renowned viola player and Cork School of Music teacher John Vallery suffered serious injuries when the motorbike he was driving was in collision with the rear of a 4x4 in east Cork on Easter Bank Holiday Monday.

His wife, Mary Beattie, is a renowned piano player and also teaches at the school.

Cork School of Music director Geoffrey Spratt said staff and students are devastated by Mr Vallery’s death.

“John was a dedicated and much respected teacher, and a loyal and committed colleague. His loss will be felt by many,” he said.

Mr Vallery, a founder member of the RTÉ String Quartet and a noted chamber music player, will be buried in Lisgoold, where he lived, at 2pm today.

The school’s annual chamber music competition, which was due to take place today, has been postponed until Friday, as a mark of respect.

In Co Down, a teenager died on Saturday when the car in which he was travelling was in collision with another vehicle on the Belfast Road in Saintfield.

Meanwhile, a young man is in a serious condition in hospital after the car he was driving skidded into the corner of a farm building near the Clare village of Connolly on Saturday.

Members of his family arrived at the scene while firefighters were using cutting equipment to free him.

And in another incident in Co Down, a female pedestrian is in a critical condition in hospital after she was hit by a car shortly before 2am yesterday. The woman, in her mid-40s, was walking through Ballynahinch in Co Down when the collision happened.

Meanwhile, A Lithuanian national who died in a two car collision near Balla, Co Mayo, on Friday night has been named as 26-year-old Karoys Kryzevivius. He sustained fatal injuries when the car in which he was a front-seat passenger collided with another vehicle.