A small village turned out in force last night to mourn three young women and a baby girl who were killed in a car accident on Thursday. The accident happened as the women were travelling to band practice with the child in the back seat. Their Ford car was wrecked in the crash and went over a 7 ft retaining wall on a straight stretch of road. The three had taken sabbatical leave from their studies and were hoping their new musical group, Nivita, would be a success.
Sisters Anita O'Herlihy (18) and Niamh (20) were with their best friend, Carmel Conroy (22), and her two-year-old daughter, Emma.
They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Last night, the 500 inhabitants of Churchtown, as well as many others from overseas and throughout Ireland, thronged the Church of St Nicholas for the removals.
The parish priest, Father Patrick Twohig, said the young women had shown a very promising musical ability. This made the tragedy all the more poignant.
He added that the women had written a song, Seventeen Candles, for the victims of the Dunblane massacre in Scotland and their work had been well received there. The record had been played many times on radio.
It is understood the women were on their way to rehearse for a new album and had been excited about its prospects.
The driver of the other car, another young woman, Ms Lisa Corbett, is critical but stable at the Cork University Hospital.
Gardai are uncertain about the cause of the accident, which happened on a straight stretch of road near Mallow. The impact was such that the victims had no chance of surviving, and it took firefighters with special equipment almost three hours to remove their bodies.
An even larger crowd is expected in Churchtown today when the four victims will be buried.
The small white coffin of Emma Conroy will be surrounded with garlands of flowers and tributes are expected to be paid by the entire community.