Three die on Irish roads

Three people died in separate crashes on the country’s roads over the weekend.

Gardaí were still searching yesterday for a hit-and-run driver following the death of a former army chef.

The body of the ex-soldier, named locally as father of two Eunan McDevitt, 47, was discovered just after midnight on Saturday morning at Parkhill, Ballyshannon, Co Donegal.

Gardaí said a preliminary examination at the scene suggested the man was struck by a passing vehicle.

His body was removed from the scene after several hours and taken to Sligo General Hospital for an autopsy by State pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy.

Gardaí appealed for witnesses, in particular to anyone who travelled on the stretch of road between midnight and 12.40am on Saturday to contact Ballyshannon Garda Station on 071 9858530.

In Kerry, a 22-year-old local man lost his life in a single-vehicle accident at Rathmore just after 10.30pm on Saturday. He was named locally as Don Murphy of Knocknaloman, Rathmore. He was alone in the car and was pronounced dead at the scene.

In Wicklow, a man aged 40, also the single occupant of a car, died when the vehicle he was driving struck a wall at Aughrim at 3.40am yesterday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Meanwhile, a young pilot is understood to have suffered serious injuries when his plane crashed in fields in Co Donegal yesterday.

Mark McLoughlin, 22, was flying above Convoy when the microlight plane fell from the sky just before 1.30pm, near Carrickbrack.