PRAYERS WERE offered at Masses in Banteer, Co Cork, yesterday morning for a 19-year-old man from the area who died hours earlier in a single-vehicle traffic incident which occurred on the N72 Mallow to Killarney road.
The dead man was named locally as Rory O’Connor from Banteer. He died when his car left the road at Ballymaquirk at 6am yesterday.
Banteer parish priest Fr William Winter described the passing of the teenager, whose mother, Bernie, teaches in a local primary school, as a “terrible tragedy” for the town.
“People in Banteer are doing everything they can to help. All we can do is pray for them.”
Independent councillor John Paul O’Shea, who is based in nearby Lombardstown, said weather conditions in north Cork were “hazardous” yesterday with a lot of surface water on roads.
The section of the N72 where the crash occurred remained closed for a period and local diversions were put in place.
Gardaí wish to appeal for witnesses who may have travelled this stretch of the Mallow to Killarney road near Ballymaquirk between approximately 5am and 6am yesterday and who may be able to assist with this investigation to contact Kanturk Garda station on 029-20680.
Meanwhile, a one-year-old child who died in a car crash in Limerick on Friday evening has been named as Thomas Anthony O’Brien from Charleville, Co Cork.
The child, who was travelling in a car driven by his mother, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 13-month-old infant died in a two-vehicle crash between Charleville and O’Rourke’s Cross on the N20 in south Co Limerick. A six-year-old female cousin of the deceased suffered serious head injuries in the incident. It happened shortly after 4pm on Friday at Rockhill when a Renault Clio, in which the children were travelling, collided with an oncoming white Berlingo van.
Witnesses to the crash are asked to contact Bruff Garda station 061-382940. The public can also use the Garda Confidential Line on 1800-666111.
Meanwhile, three young men, all believed to be in their 20s, were taken to hospital after a single-car crash on the Cavan town side of Virginia in the early hours of Sunday. The incident occurred just after 3am when the car crashed into a ditch.
The men were taken by ambulance to hospital where one is described as having “serious injuries”.
The road, the main N3 Cavan-Dublin, was closed overnight and diversions remained in place yesterday afternoon.