Two women killed in separate weekend incidents

A woman was killed in a single-vehicle road traffic incident and another woman died after she was swept out to sea in Co Clare.

Gardaí in Kildare are investigating the fatal road traffic collision which occurred on the M9 between junction 1 and junction 2 southbound at approximately 8.30pm on Saturday.

A female motorcyclist in her forties collided with the central divide on the motorway. She was pronounced dead at the scene and the road was closed afterwards to facilitate a forensic collision examination.

Gardaí in Kildare are appealing for witnesses to contact them.

In Co Clare, a woman died after she was swept into the sea by a rogue wave early yesterday.

The 53-year-old is understood to have been in the water for almost an hour before she was located by a boat crew from the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard.

The victim, believed to be from Eastern Europe but living in Tipperary, was part of a group that had been fishing at Ballyreen, south of Fanore.

The alarm was raised at around 9.00am when the Irish Coast Guard received a report of a person in the water at Blackhead in Co Clare. Later it was confirmed the incident occurred further south at Ballyreen.

The woman was recovered from the water at around 10.00am and was airlifted to University Hospital Galway, where she was pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, the Gardai and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) are launching a major enforcement and education offensive during July and August targeting Drink Driving behaviour.

It comes as latest figures show 86 people have died on the roads since the beginning of the year — 11 more deaths compared to the same date last year.