Five people died in three road crashes in Cork and Dublin yesterday bringing to 262 the number of people who have lost their lives on the roads so far this year.
Four of the deaths took place in Co Cork and the fifth in Dublin. Gardaí in Cork have launched investigations into two car crashes near Newmarket and Mitchelstown in the north of the county which claimed the lives of four men and left another three people injured.
The first collision happened between 7.35am and 7.45am yesterday when a car driven by Gerard O'Keeffe (25) from Newmarket collided with another car at Garraunawarrig on the main Newmarket-Kanturk road.
Mr O'Keeffe, a single man from Duarrigle, Newmarket died at the scene while a rear-seat passenger, Jimmy McAuliffe (39), a married father of four from Barry's Place, Newmarket, was killed instantly when he was thrown from the vehicle.
Mr O'Keeffe is survived by his parents, Michael and Anne, and his sister, Marguerite, while Mr McAuliffe is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and children, John, Margaret, Con and Jimmy, who range in age from 19 to eight.
Mr O'Keeffe's girlfriend, a woman in her mid-20s from Newmarket Road, Kanturk, was injured and was brought by ambulance to Cork University Hospital. Her condition was yesterday described as "stable".
The driver of the second vehicle involved in the collision, a man in his mid-20s from Listowel in north Kerry, had to be cut free by firefighters. He too was brought to CUH where his condition was described as "stable."
Mr O'Keeffe and Mr McAuliffe both worked in the building trade.
Meanwhile the driver of another vehicle travelling towards Kanturk, who was also involved in the collision, was treated for minor injuries and shock by a local GP. The man who is in his mid-20s is from Newmarket.
Gardaí from Newmarket and Kanturk closed off the road for more than 12 hours to allow a Garda forensic crash investigator to examine the scene while the vehicles involved in the collision were removed for technical examination.
Local Fine Gael councillor Marian Murphy said the tragedy had shocked the town. "Everybody here would know the two men and all their families. Nobody expects when a loved one goes out to work like this that they won't come home. Everyone here is really really upset."
Meanwhile gardaí in Mitchelstown have launched an investigation into a crash on the Mitchelstown relief road at about 2pm yesterday in which two men in their 40s were killed after a four-wheel drive vehicle and a Ford Transit van collided.
The driver of the four-wheel drive was named locally as Willie O'Donoghue (44), a married father of three from Gortnahown, Mitchelstown.
The other casualty was a 47-year- old married man with children from Newcastlewest, Co Limerick.
Both men had to be cut from their vehicles by members of Mitchelstown and Fermoy fire brigades using cutting equipment. Both were pronounced dead at the scene and their bodies removed to Cork University Hospital for postmortem examination today. Gardaí closed off the road for six hours yesterday and put a diversion in place through the centre of Mitchelstown to allow a Garda forensic crash investigator carry out an examination of the scene while both vehicles were removed for examination by PSV inspectors.
In Dublin, a man was killed in a two-car crash on the N7 at Newlands Cross yesterday afternoon at about 3.30 pm.
Meanwhile, gardaí have named the man who died in a crash at Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal, on Sunday. He was Przemyslaw Szczepanski (25), Lough View, Buncrana, Co Donegal.