A 19-year-old man who died after being struck by a Bus Éireann bus on Convent Road in Longford town on Thursday evening has been named locally as Martin McDonnell.
Mr McDonnell was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision which occurred at 6.15pm. A full garda forensic collision investigation was underway on Friday morning at the junction of Convent Road and New Street, where the incident occurred.
Mr McDonnell had been due to be married later this month. His fiancée Shirley Dempsey paid tribute to him, saying the couple had been looking forward to their wedding in three weeks time.
“You were my whole life,” she said. “I’d give my life just to have you back. I just can’t come to terms that God took you away from me and I will never understand why.
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“All we had was each other and you told me that everyday. We were going to the North in three weeks to get married and were going to keep it a secret until the day.”
This is the second tragedy to befall the the McDonnell family in recent years. Ciaran McDonnell (23), a brother of Martin, died on New Year’s Day in 2022. The car he was driving was found partially submerged in water off the main road between Granard and Ballinalee at Clonfin in Longford.
Martin McDonnell spoke at the funeral of his brother at St Mel’s Cathedral in Longford on January 6th last year. He told mourners that their hearts were “broken in to pieces” following the loss of Ciaran.
The body of Martin McDonnell was taken to the mortuary at Mullingar Regional Hospital where a postmortem will take place.
The Bus Éireann bus which had been turning onto the Convent Road at the time of the incident remained at the scene on Friday morning.
It had been travelling from Cavan to Athlone, Bus Eireann confirmed in a statement. There were no reported injuries to either the driver or passengers that were onboard at the time.
“This is a sad and shocking event and the sympathies of everyone at Bus Éireann are with the family and friends of the deceased,” said chief executive officer, Stephen Kent.
“We are grateful to the gardaí and emergency services for their rapid response and we will support the investigation fully.”
Tributes
Tributes were paid to the young man on Thursday evening on social media.
His sister Helen said she had been left numbed at the news. “My poor brother Martin, he didn’t deserve this,” she wrote.
“It really is a cruel world we live in,” wrote one friend. “RIP Martin, your back with your brother Ciaran this evening side by side again.”
Another simply wrote: “Gone too soon brother, you’ll be missed. Praying for your family at this sad time.”
Longford Municipal District Cathaoirleach Cllr Gerry Hagan expressed his shock upon learning of the tragedy.
“It’s a tragedy at any time of the year, but especially so with it being Easter week,” he said.
“On behalf of the Longford community I would like to take this opportunity to extend deepest sympathies to the family of the young man.”
Gardaí are appealing to anyone with information to come forward. Members of the public who may have witnessed the incident or who could possibly have video footage (including dash-cam footage) are asked to contact Gardaí.
Gardaí can be contacted at Longford Garda Station on 043 335 0570, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.