‘Most of us never knew them, yet a dark cloud is upon us all’

Road fatality statistics are not a ‘blame game’, but they do demand attention and radical action to find solutions

Flowers at he scene of a fatal crash on the N17 near Claremorris where a woman and two childred were killed. Picture: Andy Newman

County Mayo has suffered greatly from road crashes in recent times. Less than 24 hours before the latest catastrophic collision, when a woman and her two young daughters died just outside Claremorris, the county coroner had pleaded for increased road safety measures.

Eight out of ten inquest adjournments that had come before the coroner were linked to road deaths in Mayo, it was noted when making the public appeal. Almost 10% of national road deaths have occurred in Mayo this year, with the county shouldering a disproportionate share of grief.