A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl and her 12-week-old sister were killed when they were knocked down by a car on the outskirts of Tuam, Co Galway, at lunchtime yesterday.
The two children in a buggy and their father, John Gilmore, were walking along the hard shoulder of the N17 when the collision occurred near the junction of the N17 and the Bobby Burke ring road.
Two ambulances arrived at the scene of the incident and a Garda patrol car escorted them to University College Hospital in Galway city, about 30km away.
Despite efforts made to save the girls, they were pronounced dead at the hospital.
The driver of the car and the girls’ father were also brought to the hospital for treatment to non-life threatening injuries.
The girls were named locally as Katie (2) and Grace (12 weeks) Gilmore from The Meadows, Tuam.
The driver of the car was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
A section of the N17 was closed near the turn-off for Dunmore for an examination by Garda forensic experts but reopened last night.
Fine Gael councillor Tom McHugh, who owns the Ard Rí Hotel, which is 150m away from the scene of the crash, said the community was devastated by the tragedy.
“A terrible dark cloud is hanging over the community of the family and the community of the children’s grandparents,” said Mr McHugh. “Everyone here in Tuam is in a state of shock at the news. Nobody seems to know what happened but it is an awful tragedy.
“My sympathy goes out to the girls’ parents and grandparents. I wish their father a speedy recovery. It is too traumatic and horrendous to even imagine what they are going through,” he said.
The mother of the two girls, Michelle Gilmore, is originally from Belclare near Tuam, while her husband, John, is originally from Cortoon, also near Tuam.
Fr Michael Gleeson, parish priest in Belclare,said the community was in a state of shock at the tragedy that has befallen the family.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to contact them at Tuam Garda station on 093-70840, the Garda confidential telephone line 1800-666111 or any Garda station.