FIVE people were killed in road accidents over the weekend including three young people who died in two separate accidents in Co Louth early yesterday.
Mr Denis Burns (21), of Mellifont Park, Drogheda, and Mr James Clynch (18), of Tower Cross, Mornington, Co Meath, were killed when the red Honda in which they were travelling crashed into a pillar at the entrance to St Joseph's Secondary School on the Termonfeckin Road, Drogheda, at 5.45 a.m. Two other men and a young woman were injured and taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
One man was discharged yesterday afternoon and a hospital spokesman described the condition of his companion as stable.
A woman in her 20s died when struck by a car as she walked along the road between Dundalk and Carlingford in north Co Louth early yesterday. The accident at Ballymascanlan happened at 2.35 a.m. The woman, who was from the North, was identified last night but her name was not being released until her family had been informed.
A 19 year old man died and another was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash in Co Waterford yesterday morning. The accident occurred about 5.30 a.m. near Dungarvan. He was named as Mr John Gleeson of Ballinamult, Co Waterford.
His body was taken to St Joseph's Hospital, Clonmel, while the injured man driving the other motorcycle was brought to Waterford Regional Hospital where his condition was described as "very serious".
A motorcyclist was killed at Saintfield, Co Down, on Saturday evening when his vehicle collided with a car close to the junction of the Carsonstown and Crossgar roads. He was named as Mr Jonathan Brashaw (19), of Copeland Drive, Comber.
Meanwhile, a postmortem was conducted yesterday at the County Hospital in Naas, Co Kildare, on the body of Gearoid Cronin (13), a Gaelic footballer who collapsed and died while playing a schools final in Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, on Friday night. Gearoid, from Broadleas, Ballymore Eustace, Co Kildare, was playing for Hollywood national school.
Medical assistance was provided at the scene but he was pronounced dead at Baltinglass District Hospital. The boy's parents, Ger and Bernadette Cronin, were at the match.
A fisherman from Cahirciveen, Co Kerry, Mr James Courtney (35), was drowned while tending his lobster pots on Friday. He was alone in a punt when he set out for the pots in Valentia Harbour at 5 p.m. When he failed to return the Valentia lifeboat, a rescue helicopter and the coast and cliff rescue services in the area combined in a joint search.
Mr Courtney's body was found at 5 a.m. on Saturday in 12 ft of water in a cave on the craggy coast not from Valentia lighthouse. He was single.
Early this morning, nine people were taken to hospital with minor injuries following two traffic accidents in central Dublin. Seven people were injured in a two car collision in O'Connell Street, and two people were injured in a similar accident in the North Strand.
