Minor county footballer dies in crash hours after match

THE world of GAA is in mourning after the death of Meath county minor star Liam Tolan, one of two deaths on Irish roads in a single day.

Liam, 17, received fatal injuries yesterday when the car in which he was a passenger crashed into a ditch on a quiet rural road just hours after he played for Meath in a Leinster Minor Football Championship match.

He was rushed by ambulance to Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan, but he was pronounced dead on arrival. He had played only hours earlier against Offaly at Páirc Tailteann in Navan.

The corner forward had scored a point and provided the opening for Meath’s goal in the first half.

The fatal single-vehicle accident occurred on a minor road at Ballyhack, Kilbrew, Ashbourne, Co Meath, at around 12.10am.

The driver and another passenger in the vehicle, both males in their late teens, were uninjured in the collision. Another Meath minor player is understood to have been dropped off shortly before the accident.

Yesterday, the player’s death was marked by the Meath senior team when a minute’s silence was held before the start of the county’s Leinster championship clash with Offaly in Portlaoise.

Late last night, Gardaí confirmed that a second man had died after a separate road accident in north Dublin at 3.40am.

The man in his 20s is understood to have been hit by a car while walking along the N11 at Blake’s Cross in Stillorgan. The driver of the vehicle was not injured.