Gardaí have appealed to motorists to take care on the roads this weekend after four fatalities in the past 24 hours.
A woman in her 40s died following a road traffic collision near Kells Co Meath this morning, and gardaí are also investigating the death of a male pedestrian in Co Laois. The two deaths follow a crash that claimed the lives of a couple in their 60s in Co Cork yesterday.
The woman died after the car she was driving went out of control at Ballinagun, Upper Kells, shortly after midnight. Nobody else was involved in the incident.
She was taken to Our Lady's Hospital in Navan and pronounced dead a short time later. The road was closed for an examination by forensic investigators.
Witnesses are asked to contact Kells Garda station on 046 9280820, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
Separately, a male pedestrian in his 20s was found with serious injuries on the road at Killeigh, Tullamore, in the early hours of the morning. He was taken to Tullamore General Hospital but was later pronounced dead.
The road has been closed pending completion of an examination by Garda forensic collision investigators, a Garda spokesman said. Gardaí at Tullamore are seeking witnesses.
Yesterday evening, a woman driver and her husband, from the Midleton area, were killed when their car was in collision with another car near Lissarda at about 6pm.
Assistant Garda Commissioner John O'Mahoney, head of the Garda National Traffic Bureau, extended his sympathies to the families and friends of those who lost their lives and asked all road users "to take into consideration all road conditions including the weather and the presence of large volumes of holiday weekend traffic".
"Road Safety is everybody’s concern and by working together we can make the roads safer for all road users," he said.
Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar urged motorists to drive safely over the weekend, in the wake of the deaths.
"This bank holiday weekend has already seen four people killed on the roads. Heavy rainfall is being predicted for many parts of the country, so conditions on the roads are likely to be hazardous in some areas," Mr Varadkar said.
"Bank holidays are meant to be a time of fun and relaxation. However, these weekends are generally more dangerous for motorists, and see higher traffic levels. I would appeal to motorists everywhere to slow down, never drink and drive, and endeavour that no more lives are lost on the road this weekend.”
Some 69 people have been killed on the State's road so far this year - four fewer than in the same period last year.
Some 56,289 fixed penalty fines were issued by gardaí to motorists for speeding offences in the first quarter of this year alone. Some 3,429 were issued to people for not wearing their seatbelts.
A total of 3,266 people were prosecuted for drink driving offences, and 1,018 people were prosecuted for driving dangerously. Gardaí said preliminary results of investigations indicated that nine people who have died on the roads to date this year were not wearing a seatbelt.
Forty people were killed in a single vehicle collision, often late at night, with inappropriate speed also contributing to many of these collisions, a Garda spokesman said.