Mum loses eldest and youngest children in crashes... 13 years apart

A Limerick mother has lost her eldest and youngest children in road traffic crashes — 13 years apart.

Shane Mulcahy, 35, a single man from Herbertstown, died when his car went off the road about two miles from the village. His sister Naomi, aged 16, died 13 years ago in a car crash that also claimed the lives of two other teenagers.

Two other siblings, Aoife and Richard, were travelling home from London and Australia yesterday to be with their mother. Their father John died a few years before Naomi’s death.

Councillor Bill O’Donnell said: “The whole place is in shock, just numbed. The Mulcahy family have endured an intense level of tragedy. Aideen’s husband, John, died a young man only a few years before Naomi’s death. Shane was the eldest and Naomi the youngest. It’s very hard to comprehend the tragedy that has hit the Mulcahy family with these two fatal road accidents.”

The alarm about Mr Hegarty’s crash was raised at about 5.30am yesterday by a motorist. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was removed to University Hospital Limerick where a postmortem will be carried out.

Mr Mulcahy worked with a company in Limerick and lived with his mother.

Gardaí at Roxboro Road station in Limerick are appealing for public assistance.