Four people killed in weekend carnage

FOUR people died in weekend carnage on the roads, a fishermen drowned in a lough and an elderly man was killed in a house fire.

A man and a woman died and four others were injured following a head on collision in dense fog in Co Louth early yesterday morning. Their deaths brought to 64 the number of people killed on Irish roads so far this year.

The accident happened at 7am, three miles north of Ardee on the main Dublin -Derry road. The two dead are believed to be from Latvia. The four injured people were taken to Louth County Hospital.

Gardaí said it would be some time before they released the names of the dead as they would have to contact their relatives in Latvia.

Michael Buckley, a 33-year-old from Clondrohid, Macroom, Co Cork died after his motorcycle was in a collision with a car on Saturday.

The accident happened at 5pm at Dromagh, 15 miles west of Mallow on the main Killarney road. Both the motorcycle and the car were travelling towards Mallow when the accident happened.

Mr Buckley was rushed to Mallow General Hospital but died there an hour later. Gardaí said the woman car driver involved was very shocked, but not injured.

Thomas Blake, 22, died when the car he was a passenger in went out of control and crashed at Donard, Co Wicklow, at 6am on Saturday. Mr Blake, a local man, was pronounced dead at Naas General Hospital. The driver was also taken to hospital but wasn't suffering from serious injuries.

A fisherman drowned when he tried to swim out to a boat which had broken away from its moorings on Lough Corrib, Co Galway.

Barry Quinn, 28, from Sixmilebridge, Co Clare and a friend had been fishing on the lough on Saturday when they decided to take a break for lunch at 2pm and moored the boat at Cannaver Island. The boat floated out into the lough and Mr Quinn drowned attempting to retrieve it.

A coastguard helicopter, gardaí and members of Galway Sub Aqua Club joined locals in the search. Mr Quinn's body was recovered from the lough a few hours later.

Meanwhile, an 86-year-old man died after a fire broke out at a house in Co Sligo.

The blaze was noticed early yesterday morning at the house in Charlotte Street, Sligo. The body of the elderly man was taken to Sligo General Hospital for a post mortem while gardaí carried out a forensic examination of the house.