Death in a downpour

Date Published: 19-Nov-2009

GALWAY has suffered one of the county’s blackest days ever of carnage on the roads this week as five women

were killed and another was last night fighting for her life in hospital after two separate car accidents in the county on Tuesday.

Four young women were tragically killed when the car they were travelling in was involved in a head-on collision with a yellow pick-up truck on the Galway side of the Galway/Mayo border between the villages of Ballindine and Milltown.

The victims, who were all passengers in the blue Peugeot, have been named as 19 year old Marie Ní Chonaile, daughter of Noel and Noirin, from Na Doireadha, Baile na hAbhann; TeresaMolloy (19), daughter of Kathleen and Pat, from Leitir Móir; 20 year old Sara Byrne, daughter of Tom and Tina, from Headford; and Sorcha Rose McLaughlin (19) from Mulgannon, County Wexford.

Sarah was a third year BA Gaeilge and Geography student, Teresa and Marie were third year students of the BA Gaeilge agus Léann an Aistriúcháin (Irish and Translation Studies), and Sorcha was a second year BA Geography and Applied Math Science and Dioplóma sa Ghaeilge (Irish Diploma) student.

The Health Service ExecutiveWest said the driver of the car, 21 year old Michelle O’Donnell from Kilronan, Inis Mór, was taken to Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar following the crash and was in a critical condition at the time of going to print – her family

was yesterday holding a bedside vigil at the Mayo hospital.

She remains in a critical condition this morning and was moved to Beaumont Hospital, Dublin late last night.

Michelle, a third year student BA Gaeilge agus Léann an Aistriúcháin, celebrated her 21st birthday two weeks and her father John is the coxswain of the Aran Islands Lifeboat.

The male driver of the truck – a Galway city native who lives and works in Ballindine – was also taken to Mayo General following the crash but was discharged yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon. The man is understood to have been trapped inside the truck and had to be freed by the emergency services – he escaped with just a fractured ankle.

It is also understood cutting equipment had to be used to free the women from the car. The women were Arts students at National University of Ireland Galway where they were studying Irish or involved with the Irish language.

All five lived together in rented accommodation in Galway City.

Yesterday friends and classmates were being comforted by bereavement counsellors at NUIG and lectures were cancelled at the Irish Department of the Arts Faculty.

The four fatalities came just hours after Sally O’Brien (58) of Williamstown, was killed when the car in which she was driving crashed into a house on the Glenamaddy Road in her native village at 9.20am on Tuesday.

The car in which the mother of twelve was driving struck a wall and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

For more on these stories see pages 1 and 2 of this week’s Tribune.