A man and a woman have died following separate road traffic collisions in Co Clare and Co Down overnight.
In Co Clare a woman died when the car she was driving collided with another vehicle near exit 13 of the N18 shortly after 9.30pm last night.
It is believed the woman had driven the wrong way up the motorway.
The man driving the second car is in a serious condition in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.
Gardaí said the north-bound lane of the N18 is closed to traffic to facilitate a forensic collision investigation.
A man in his 80s has been knocked down and killed in a road accident in Newcastle Co Down, police said today.
The elderly man was walking along the Dundrum Road last night when he was struck by a car. The driver of the vehicle, a man in his 30s, was not injured.
Additional reporting PA