Tributes have been paid to a 17-year-old killed in a road traffic collision in Co Cavan, who has been described as a charismatic and kind young man known for helping others.
The deceased, named locally as Luke Byrne, had lived in Corlough, Co Cavan.
The teenager was seriously injured when a car he was a passenger in collided with a lorry on the N3, near Kilnalack, at about 6pm on Thursday. He was rushed to Cavan General Hospital where he later died.
A woman in her 50s and man in his 40s were also taken to the hospital for injuries understood to be serious but non-life threatening.
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There was a further road fatality on Friday when a man in his 80s was killed in a crash at Bandon, Co Cork. He was the driver of a car with collided with a second car on the R585, Dunmanway Road, Bandon, shortly after noon.
Gardaí have expressed concern at the rise in road fatalities this year, urging motorists to take extra care. The number of people killed on the State’s roads up to Thursday was 79 – an increase of 32 road fatalities compared with the similar period last year and an increase of 15 road deaths compared with the similar period in 2019.
Luke Byrne had recently finished his fifth year in St Mogue’s College secondary school, Bawnboy, Co Cavan, and was also involved in Corlough GAA club.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page Corlough GAA said “no words can express the grief” members of the club were feeling as a result of his untimely death.
“Our hearts are breaking for a young life that had so much to give to this world, a talented footballer that loved playing football, a team mate that was as solid as a rock and so much to offer in his short life,” the statement said.
“Luke was highly respected on and off the field , his school mates and work colleagues highly respected him, he had a great attitude on the field by letting his feet do the talking.”
Despite being only 17, he was already playing senior football for the club. “From his underage days playing with Dernacrieve Gaels, he won numerous medals and we knew from the get-go this was one player to watch out for and indeed Luke proved us all right,” the club added.
“He was one of the most talented footballers to wear a green and white jersey for Corlough. When we lose any member of our club we naturally grieve for them but when we lose a member so young, so full of life and so much to live for, it’s only then you realise we’ve hit rock bottom.”
Anne Conaghan, principal at St Mogue’s, described the teenager as an “exceptional young man” who was both academically and athletically gifted.
He was part of the school GAA team that won the Ulster Ward Cup back to back in 2019 and 2020 and was described as a “great footballer” by the coach of the school team.
He was known in the school as someone always eager to help others. “From first year on when he was finished his work he’d go around and help everybody else. He was always volunteering to help out,” Ms Conaghan told The Irish Times.
Last Friday, he had stayed back with a number of other students to help clear out classrooms after exams and also to plant flowers in the school grounds, she said.
The teachers in the school recalled the 17-year-old as a “very charismatic and very kind” student, she said. “He never left a classroom without saying thank you or goodbye,” the principal said. The teenager had plans to study physiotherapy after school, she said.
The Byrne family was very close and he had an older sister who is currently studying in England. “Our hearts are broken for them,” Ms Conaghan said. “He was an amazing young man, [it is] just a dreadful loss to the whole community.”
Fr Seán Maguire, parish priest, said “the rural, close-knit community of Corlough is numb with sadness today and our thoughts and prayers are with the Byrne family and his friends at this time”.
Fianna Fáil councillor John Paul Feeley said the death of the teenager was “such a tragic event” and his prayers were with the family “on this very sad day”.
