There is a deep sense of loss within the GAA in Carlow after the deaths early yesterday in separate incidents of the county's senior football captain, Mr Andrew Corden (24), and Mr Pat Bermingham (27), a member of the Fighting Cocks club in the county.
Mr Corden died after being crushed by a forklift at the former Erin Foods plant on the outskirts of Carlow town. Mr Bermingham died in a road accident outside Banbridge, Co Down, at approximately 5 a.m. while returning from a motorcycle rally in the North.
Mr Corden had captained Carlow on Sunday of last week in the televised Leinster Senior Football Championship first round tie against Westmeath at O'Moore Park, Portlaoise.
Regarded as the most consistent footballer in the county, he played at left fullback for his county and captained Carlow to the county's first ever O'Byrne Cup Senior Football success in January.
The father of a three-year-old daughter, Sorcha, he worked as a sales representative for a computer company.
All GAA matches in Carlow were called off as a mark of respect to the deceased footballers.
Meanwhile, a 19-year-old man was killed when the car he was driving collided with a minibus in Co Donegal yesterday. The accident happened at 12.50 a.m. at Stranaglaugh between Glenties and Ballybofey.
Three men in the minibus were injured and taken to Letterkenny General Hospital.
Elsewhere, a 26-year-old man died in a weekend road accident in Co Down.
He was a passenger in a car which left the Magheramayo Road near Castlewellan, turned over and crashed into a field. The driver of the car is in hospital with serious injuries.
An 18-month-old boy was found drowned in a river in Co Cavan at the weekend. The child was named yesterday as Joshua Gould.
He had been in an enclosed play area in the garden of his home but went missing at 5 p.m. on Saturday. When his family failed to locate him, gardái and local rescue services began a search.
At 7.40 p.m. he was found 500 yards down river from his home in Crossdowney and pronounced dead at the scene.