Family left ‘devastated’ after boy and grandparents killed in Co Tipperary crash
Bridget, Thomas and Tom O'Reilly.
The two adults and boy who died in Tuesday night’s crash in Tipperary have been named locally as Tom, 45, and Bridget, 46, O'Reilly and their grandson, three-year-old Tom O'Reilly.
They died after the car in which they were rear seat passengers hit a wall in the Windmill Knockbulloge area of Cashel at around 9pm last night.
The child’s parents, both aged 22, were injured in the crash.
The man, who was driving the car, is being treated for serious injuries while the woman sustained less serious injuries.
The site is near a bend and a steep dip in the small, rural road.
Residents from houses around the site tried to help as best as they could until emergency services arrived.
The road in Windmill Knockbulloge was closed to traffic overnight, with local diversions in place and it is expected to remain closed for most of today.
Last night's deaths come after the car crash in Clonmel last Friday night which claimed four lives.
Members of the O'Reilly family turned up at the crash site just off the Windmill Road to Cashel town on Wednesday but declined to say anything.
A vigil is to be held in St John the Baptist Church in Cashel at 3pm on Thursday.
Garda Superintendent Kieran Ruane said the local community in Cashel was shocked and deeply saddened by Tuesday’s crash.
“I want to express my sincere condolences and the sympathies of every member of An Garda Síochána to the family and friends of Thomas, Bridget and Tom on this tragic loss of life,” said Mr Ruane.
He said Garda would investigate all circumstances of the collision.
The officer also commended the response of emergency services to the incident.
“Our local community here in Cashel is shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic road traffic collision involving five members of one family, with three deceased,” he said.
“I assured the family and I want to assure the community that local gardaí here in south Tipperary are here to support them and the community, as we all come to terms with this tragedy over the coming days, weeks and months.
“I want to take the opportunity to appeal to any person with any information on this road traffic collision to contact the investigation team at Cahir Garda station.”
Mr Ruane, who also spoke to media following the Clonmel crash, said welfare support was being offered to emergency personnel who had dealt with the fatal incidents.
“Whilst we wear these uniforms and we have PPE equipment, that doesn’t stop us from seeing what we see and causing emotions,” he said.
“It is difficult for first responders to deal with that. But we do our job, and we do it well.”
Mr Ruane said he had tried to give words of comfort to the family.
“We understand what they’re going through, they’re numb, they’re trying to deal with the loss of three family members, and such a young life lost in those three, it’s very difficult,” he said.
“You offer words of comfort and support and that’s all really you can do in such circumstances.”
Mr Ruane said while weather was a factor in the Clonmel crash, he said it was too early in the investigation to determine whether it played a role in the Cashel collision.
“It’s too early to establish what the exact cause of the collision was,” he added.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar paid tribute to the victims of the latest road tragedy to hit the county.
“My sincere condolences to the friends and family of the people killed in the road incident in Cashel. May they rest in peace,” Mr Varadkar posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
”My thoughts are with everyone in Tipperary with this awful news coming so soon after the tragic deaths in Clonmel.”
Mags Casey of the Tipperary Rural Travellers Project said that she has known the family affected by the crash in Cashel for 23 years.
“The Travelling community all over Ireland are shocked, devastated and numb, at this particular point,” she told RTÉ’s .
Sinn Féin TD Martin Browne, who is a family friend, said they were heartbroken.
“You just don’t expect when someone goes away that the next thing you get is a knock on the door from the emergency services to say there has been an accident, especially when you have a three-year-old involved," he said.
“The emergency services were brilliant and the neighbours themselves came out when the tragedy happened. There is just numbness and shock all around.”
He added: “They’ve been in Cashel all their lives.
“They'd be a very quiet family and just kind of kept to themselves.
“They're a big family, and they would have been well known around Cashel town.”
Parish priest Fr Enda Brady, who administered the last rites last night, said: “As you can imagine, Cashel is so close to Clonmel and you are going to have a lot of connections between the two towns.
“So, people in Cashel are still reeling from the shock of what happened last Friday and now they have to deal with the death of two more adults and a child.
“The town is numb and there is a silence over it.”
He said the scene last night "was devastating" as he paid tribute to the emergency services.
Local TD Mattie McGrath said his "thoughts and prayers are with all those involved, their families and the emergency services dealing with another tragic road collision".
“There are just no words, what an unbelievably difficult week this has been for the people of Tipperary.
“Such heartbreaking news when the county is still grieving following Friday night's tragic accident which claimed four young lives.
“May those who have lost their lives rest in eternal peace.”
Speaking in Cork, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said it’s hard to know what to say in the wake of the latest road tragedy but said the Government will examine the recent trends to see what more can be done to improve road safety.
“It's just devastating, not just for the family, but I think for the wider communities to see such a horrific accident last night — a young boy and his grandparents losing their lives and two more people critically ill — so above all my thoughts go out to their families and to their wider communities," she said.
“We've had a really difficult few weeks when it comes to our roads. We've had a number of tragedies.
“There are a lot of families grieving but it's important as well that, working with the gardaí, we understand and we find out what's happened and obviously that we do whatever we can to prevent these types of accidents from happening."
Garda Forensic Collision Investigators (FCI) are to conduct an examination of the scene. An incident room has been established at Cahir Garda Station and a senior investigating officer has been appointed to lead the investigation.
Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to contact the investigation team.
Any road users who may have camera — including dash-cam — footage and were travelling in the Windmill Knockbulloge area near Cashel between 8.30pm and 9.15pm on Tuesday evening are asked to make this footage available to gardaí.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cahir Garda Station on 052 617 7640, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.
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