The community around Gorey, Co Wexford, was in shock last night at the death of two young sisters in a tractor accident at their family farm outside the town.
The girls were named as Claire Louise (12) and Kay O'Brien (10), whose home is at Killynann, near Ramsfort, about a mile outside Gorey.
The girls were believed to have been playing at about 3 p.m. on a tractor with a bucket attachment, which was being driven by an adult. It is thought that they were killed almost instantly when they were crushed by the tractor.
The vehicle was towed away last night for a detailed examination for mechanical faults.
The girls were pronounced dead at the scene by a local doctor. Their bodies were taken to Wexford County Hospital, where a post-mortem examination was to be carried out later.
Claire Louise and Kay were pupils at the local Loreto primary school. They were keen camogie players with the local Naomh Eanna Club, whose grounds are close to their farm home. They played regularly for the club in junior county competitions.
There was deep shock among their team-mates and school friends last night, and matches scheduled for yesterday evening and for the weekend were cancelled.
The O'Brien family has one other child, the girls' older brother, John, who plays with the Naomh Eanna junior Gaelic team. The family was being comforted last night by relatives and neighbours.
The Health and Safety Authority recently expressed concern at the level of fatal accidents on farms. The double tragedy in Gorey takes the death toll to 14 since the beginning of the year.
In May, a three-year-old boy died after being hit by a reversing tractor being driven by his father at a farm in Annacarthy, Co Tipperary. A man in his mid-20s was killed near his home in Leitrim when the tractor he was driving overturned at the end of April.
Last year 15 people died in farm accidents and insurance firms paid out nearly £18 million.