An 84-year-old man has died and another man has been seriously injured in a two-vehicle collision on the M8 Cork-Dublin motorway near Rathcormac on Friday morning.
A man driving a 4x4, named locally as Tom Joe O'Riordan was fatally injured when his car collided with a van delivering the Evening Echo newspaper to Cork at around 11.30am.
Mr O’ Riordan, from Ballyarra in Castlelyons, had been driving south on the southbound lane of the motorway when he approached the toll plaza and turned around.
He then drove northwards against the oncoming traffic on the southbound lane before colliding with the Evening Echo van at the townland of Ballyglissane near Junction 16 just outside Rathcormac.
The emergency services were alerted and paramedics attended to Mr O’ Riordan but he was pronounced dead at the scene and his body is due to be removed for a postmortem examination.
Meanwhile the driver of the Evening Echo van, a man in his late 20s, was also seriously injured in the collision and was rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital for treatment.
Well known
Tributes were paid on Friday night to the late Mr O’Riordan, who is survived by his wife Myra, sons Martin and William, and daughter Annette and was well known in Castlelyons and east Cork.
Cllr Frank O'Flynn said that Mr O'Riordan was well respected in farming circles and a very popular and familiar figure within the GAA in Castlelyons and the general Fermoy area.
“Tom Joe was the heart and soul of Castlelyons GAA – he never missed a match and he will be sorely missed – my prayers are with his widow and family at this time of such terrible loss,” he said.
Castlelyons GAA public relations officer Kieran McGann also paid tribute to Mr O’Riordan, saying that he was a stalwart of the club going back decades, both as a player and as an administrator.
“The parish is in a state of shock. Tom Joe was a legend in Castlelyons – he used to play full back and he won east Cork medals with the club in 1953, 1955 and 1965 and was a real driving force within the club and will be sadly missed.
“He was life president of Castlelyons GAA and before that he served as secretary while he also served as treasurer and vice-president with Imokilly Division so he would be very well known in east Cork.”
Gardaí closed off the southbound lane of the M8 for several hours and put diversions in place to allow a garda forensic crash investigator examine the scene of the collision.
Gardaí have appealed for any witnesses to the crash or anyone who may have driven the road shortly before the collision to contact them at Fermoy Garda station on 025-82100.
Mr O’Riordan’s death brings to 21 the number of people to die on Cork roads so far this year – nine more than in from 2015 when a total of 12 road users lost their lives on the county’s roads.
Cavan crash
Meanwhile, a woman in her 80s died after her car struck a ditch on a road at Keenagh near Ballyjamesduff on Thursday evening.
Gardaí were called to the scene when the alarm was raised at about 10.45am on Friday morning.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and her body has since been removed to Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan, for a postmortem examination. The local coroner has been notified.
The scene has been examined by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators.
Investigating gardaí are appealing for witnesses or anyone to contact Bailieboro Garda station at 042-9694570 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111.
