Calls for road safety upgrade after tragic crashes claim four lives

Politicians in Cork and Waterford have called upon the authority responsible for Ireland’s main routes to do more to improve the safety of a national road on which four people have died in two crashes over the space of a day.

A man was killed in a two-car collision yesterday at about 8am on the N72 road west of Fermoy, Co Cork.

The driver was heading in the direction of Mallow when his car collided with a 4X4 vehicle. The driver and two passengers in the 4X4 were taken to Cork University Hospital.

The fatality came a day after three men in their 30s were killed in a collision outside Dungarvan on the same road, some 50km east of yesterday’s accident.

The fatality came a day after three men in their 30s were killed in a collision outside Dungarvan on the same road, some 50km east of yesterday’s accident.

Emergency services at the scene of the car crash outside Dungarvan Co Waterford. Picture: Dan McGrath

Gardaí were yesterday said to have made progress in their attempts to identify the three men, whose car caught fire following the impact with a people carrier. It is understood DNA testing will be used to identify the men, a process that may take a number of days.

The six travelling in the people carrier have been identified locally as Mary Bermingham, her partner Gary Fenton, and her four children, all of whom are from Cork. The six were taken to hospitals in Cork and Waterford with serious injuries.

The children — three girls and a boy — are aged between six and 14. The boy was released from hospital yesterday. It is understood that Mr Fenton works for the Naval Service.

Following yesterday’s fatal accident in Fermoy, a local councillor called on Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) — which assumed responsibility for Ireland’s main routes from the former National Roads Authority last year — to conduct a report on the conditions along the N72 both to the east and west of the town.

“It is a bad stretch of road, and while we don’t know what the cause of this accident was yet, I have people on to me complaining about the speeds along that route every day of the week,” Fine Gael councillor Noel McCarthy said yesterday.

“Perhaps TII should look to produce a report on what can be done to make the road safer.”

Mallow-based Labour TD Sean Sherlock said that he had recently commended TII on the work that was carried out on both the N72 and N73 routes into the town, but said more needs to be done.

“I acknowledge some works have been carried out so far, but there is still a need for future investment,” he said, adding that safety measures could be implemented for “reasonably small amounts”.

“Sometimes it is difficult to get the message across to the authorities that these are vital commuting and commercial routes,” he said.

Meanwhile, politicians in Waterford had also raised concerns surrounding the N72 earlier this year.

Waterford City and County Council had heard calls for the speed limit along the section of the N72, known locally as the Military Road, to be lowered amid safety fears.

This story was re-edited on Thursday, October 4, 2017.