Road deaths up 14 on same period last year as Micheál Martin leads tributes to Donegal GAA great
James McHugh celebrates Donegal's win in 1992. Taoiseach Micheál Martin led the tributes to Mr McHugh. File picture: James Meehan/Inpho
The number of people killed on Irish roads so far this year is 14 higher than at the same point last year, as tributes poured in for Donegal man James McHugh, who died following a collision in Cavan on Monday.
An All-Ireland winning footballer with Donegal in 1992, Mr McHugh was killed and his wife Noreen was seriously injured in a collision involving a car and a van on the N3 between Virginia and Cavan town.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin led the tributes to Mr McHugh, saying his family “has made an enormous contribution, as James did, to the world of sport and community and to the county Donegal and the border region".
He added: “Our thoughts go out to his family and to his friends and relatives.”
Mr McHugh’s GAA club, Cill Cartha, also paid tribute to him: “We, as a club, are devastated to hear of the tragic and untimely passing of one of our own, James McHugh.
"As a mark of respect, all club activities will be suspended until further notice. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal."
A total of 115 people have died on Irish roads since the start of the year, up 14 on the same period last year. The deaths occurred amid 109 fatal collisions, up from 96 fatal collisions in the corresponding period in 2025.
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The fatalities comprise 48 drivers, 19 passengers, 19 pedestrians, 16 motorcyclists, nine cyclists, and four e-scooter or e-bike riders or passengers.
Mr Martin said measures have been brought in to “try to improve the situation”, including giving “stronger support” to the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and rollout of the national speed camera strategy.
However, a plan to split the RSA’s operational and public interest functions is being replaced with new reform proposals, which junior transport minister Seán Canney said last month would be presented to the Government “shortly”.
Mr Martin acknowledged that road deaths and serious injury collisions “have been going in the wrong direction” over the last decade, and said the population of the country is growing.
In response to criticism by advocacy groups about a reduction in the number of gardaí attached to road policing units in the past decade, Mr Martin defended the Government by saying that the number of recruitments to An Garda Síochána in the last two to three years has been “very strong”.
Figures published by the gardaí and compiled by PARC, a national civil society group that helps those affected by serious road traffic collisions, show that in 2009, there were 1,046 gardaí in the then-traffic corps units across the country.
Most recent figures available on the garda website show there are 641 officers attached to roads policing units.
Mr Martin said everybody needs to be conscious of road safety, adding that more awareness programmes will be rolled out.
Late last month, Mr Canney said €18m has been ringfenced this year by the RSA for road safety awareness, education and promotional campaigns, including campaigns on rural speed, drug driving, and drink driving.
Mr Martin was speaking in Kanturk where he carried out a sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of the development of a three-prong project by St Joseph’s Foundation.
The project includes an equine-assisted therapy centre, a regional children’s respite centre, and a residential centre.
The equine therapy centre will provide therapeutic and developmental opportunities for service users of St Joseph’s.
The foundation, which is based in Charleville, was founded in 1968 and currently provides a range of residential and day services to 1,300 children and 400 adults with intellectual disabilities in north Cork and south Limerick.
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