A 13-year-old girl died alongside her best friend's mother after a tragic road accident on the eve of St Patrick's Day 2004, an inquest in Sligo heard yesterday.
The coroner, Dr Desmond Moran, said all of Co Sligo had been shocked by the enormity of the tragedy, which he said underlined the need for care on the road.
He was speaking at the inquest into the deaths of Joanne Henry from Ballincurry, Curry, Co Sligo, and Ursula Kearns (41) of Eskeragh, Tubbercurry, Co Sligo, who both died following a collision at Rhue, Tubbercurry.
The inquest heard that a young man is serving a sentence following the accident, having been convicted last June of dangerous driving causing the deaths of the schoolgirl and Ms Kearns.
She had been taking Joanne and her own daughter to their first disco when the accident happened.
Mark Durkan of Carrunaglough, Bonniconlon, Ballina, Co Mayo, was sentenced to one year in prison.
Yesterday's inquest heard that Durkan, a machine driver, had been working on the M50 in Dublin on the day of the accident and was on his way home at the time.
He had just left the N17 when he collided with Ms Kearns's car at a crossroads where there were a number of stop signs.
One witness said that when she arrived at the scene just after 10pm, Durkan was shouting for help and told her that two people were injured. They were lying in a ditch and another young girl was still in one of the cars.
Ms Kearns's 13-year-old daughter, Imelda, survived the accident.
A previous court case heard poignant evidence of how her mother tried to reach out to her at the scene and how she tried to reassure her mother that everything would be okay.
Both Joanne and Ms Kearns had been pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner described the evidence as harrowing.
"Words fail me in expressing sympathy to the family of a dear daughter, who died at such a tender age."
Dr Moran said he remembered the day of the accident and he knew that all of Co Sligo had been shocked by the enormity of it.
"What can one say? One has to be mindful of care on the road. Without that, accidents like this are bound to happen."
Expressing sympathy to the Kearns family, he remarked that Ursula Kearns had been very well respected in the locality.
He said if yesterday's inquest was a milestone in the grieving process, he hoped the families would get solace in the years ahead.
