Prayers were offered in Ballyduff, Co Waterford, yesterday for local woman Bernie Cassidy (39) and her two young daughters who died in a crash between Urlingford and Cashel, Co Tipperary, on Thursday afternoon.
Mrs Cassidy (nee Cunningham) grew up in Ballyduff but at the time of her death was living in Naas, Co Kildare, with her husband Karl and daughters Caroline (3) and Rosanne (1).
It is understood she was travelling to to visit her father James Cunningham when the crash occurred. Parish priest at St Michael's Church Ballyduff Upper, Fr Michael Cullinan, said locals were "deeply saddened" by the loss of Mrs Cassidy and her daughters.
"She comes from a beautiful family and has four brothers and a sister. Her mother only died last September and her father is infirm. It is an unspeakable tragedy," he said.
Gardaí from Templemore are continuing their investigation into the cause of the crash.Despite the efforts of emergency services Mrs Cassidy and her two children died at the scene.
The driver of the other car, a woman with a Kildare-registered car, was rushed to Clonmel general hospital with multiple injuries including a broken leg.
Meanwhile, gardaí have issued an appeal for witnesses to a road crash near Balla, Co Mayo, on Thursday evening in which a 19-year-old woman, believed to be originally from England, was killed.
The woman's 26-year-old male partner was critically injured in the impact on the N60 Claremorris to Castlebar road and is recovering at Mayo General Hospital. A 22-month-old baby boy escaped serious injury.
Positive identification of the dead woman still hadn't been made by gardaí up to last evening. She was travelling in a Fiat Uno car which was badly mangled in an impact with an Opel Vectra driven by an American tourist. The tourist, a female in her sixties, has been detained in hospital with minor injuries.