A 22-year-old man was killed when his car was in collision with an articulated lorry in Co Cavan early yesterday morning.
His death brings the number of people killed on Irish roads so far this year to 316. Last year's death toll on the roads was 472.
The victim, who lived locally, was driving a Peugeot 405 on the N3 between Kells and Virginia at Ballaghanea when the collision occurred at 8.15 a.m. He died at the scene and his body was taken to Cavan General Hospital. The driver of the lorry was not injured.
The dead man's name had not yet been released last night by gardai, who were trying to contact relatives in America.
On Monday three adults and two children died in a horrific crash on the N11 in Co Wicklow. A minibus taking youngsters to a school for the mentally-handicapped was in collision with a lorry at a bend in the road at Ballinacor, Kilbride, four miles south of Rathnew.
The 27-year-old driver of the lorry has appeared in court charged with dangerous driving.
In the past 12 months, the stretch of road north of Arklow has claimed 20 lives in accidents.
Within hours of the crash in Co Wicklow, two teenagers were killed in a two-car collision in west Cork. One of the victims, Mr Gerard Coakley (19), had graduated from an agricultural college hours earlier while his friend, Mr Timothy Holland jnr (19), had been due to start an accountancy studies course at Cork Institute of Technology.
Among those who have died in the recent spate of road collisions were Mr Martin Beckett (18), a member of this year's victorious Kerry All-Ireland under-21 football team, and his friend, Mr Sean O'Connor (18). They were on their way home from a holiday in Ibiza when they were involved in a head-on collision in Tipperary on September 6th.
The following day Mr Darren O'Connor, a son of the golfer Mr Christy O'Connor jnr, was among three people killed on the Galway to Limerick road.