Three men have been killed in road crashes in counties Galway, Kildare and Cavan, bringing the bank holiday weekend death toll on both sides of the Border to 13, writes Ruadhán MacCormaic
Eight people died in the Republic, the highest number of fatalities over the Easter bank holiday weekend in six years.
A man in his 20s died yesterday afternoon from injuries sustained when his four-wheel-drive vehicle collided with a truck at Kilbannon, Tuam, Co Galway on Saturday. The man has not yet been named.
A 40-year-old man died after his motorcycle collided with a car in Co Cavan on Sunday evening. The incident happened two kilometres outside Belturbet on the N87 Belturbet to Ballyconnell road at about 8.20pm. Gardaí yesterday named the victim as Seán Clial, of Doogarry, Killeshandra, Co Cavan.
In Co Kildare, the body of a 63-year-old man was found trapped under a car by gardaí yesterday morning. The discovery was made after gardaí were called to an area near the Bord na Móna railway line at Killinthomas, Rathangan.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. He is thought to have been thrown out of his car after it left the road.
The deaths follow those of nine others killed in four crashes on both sides of the Border over the weekend. This brings to 125 the number of people killed on the Republic's roads since the beginning of the year. The equivalent figure in Northern Ireland is 39.
According to figures released by the National Safety Council, this year's Easter bank holiday death toll in the Republic exceeded any since 2000.
The eight who died on the Republic's roads this weekend compares with four last year and five in each of the previous three years. Only two died in 2001.
Meanwhile, gardaí in Co Clare investigating the death of a man whose body was discovered early yesterday on a road in the east of the county have ruled out foul play. It was earlier feared he was the victim of a hit and run.
The body of the 42-year-old man, who was named locally as Seán Tobin, was found next to his bicycle by a passing motorist on the Scarriff road, near Feakle, at about 2.40am yesterday.
Gardaí believe he died after falling from his bicycle.
Separately, a Coastguard helicopter was deployed on Sunday to airlift a critically injured motorist after his car struck a wall in Co Clare. The 23-year-old driver, who was alone in the car, was near his home when his car apparently swerved across the road before hitting a stone wall.
The incident happened at Newquay, on the main Ballyvaughan to Kinvara road.
The injured man was airlifted to University College Hospital in Galway where his condition was said to be serious.
The European Commission is to launch a consultation process with the aim of halving the number of road deaths in the EU by 2010.
Officials say a lack of co-ordination between states is leaving road offences by non-residents unpunished.