Three men killed in a road accident close to Stradbally, Co Laois, early yesterday were all from the locality.
They were named as Mr Paul O'Riordan (35), The Green, Mr Declan Hewitt (27), Court Square, and Mr Jonathan Maher (21), Woodview. Mr O'Riordan, had been celebrating his 35th birthday while Mr Maher celebrated his 21st last weekend.
The only survivor of the accident, which occurred on the main Carlow to Stradbally Road, shortly after 1 a.m., was a father of five Mr Niall Sheehy (37) of Ballinteskin, Stradbally. He was taken by ambulance to Portlaoise General Hospital and later transferred to Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Yesterday he was transferred back to the intensive care unit of Portlaoise General Hospital, where his condition was described as critical.
The accident happened at Oakvale when the car struck a wall. "It was a ferocious accident," a local garda said. "Three of the men were thrown clear from the car. The fourth, one of the deceased, had to be cut from the wreckage by the fire brigade," he said.
The men were returning after a night out in Ballylinan a few miles away. The bodies were removed to Portlaoise General Hospital for post-mortem examinations. Their vehicle was taken to a local garage for Garda inspection.
The parish priest of Stradbally, Father Sean Kelly summed up the feeling in the area: "Everybody is shocked and upset. People are standing around with very little to say because in a small close-knit and good community like this people would be very sympathetic with each other".
Meanwhile, a plain-clothes garda who was killed in a two-car collision on the Dundalk bypass on Thursday night was named yesterday as Det Garda Desmond Dixon (40) from Artane in Dublin. The garda, who worked on anti-terrorist operations, was married and had three children.
The driver of the second vehicle involved was treated at Louth County Hospital, and later detained for questioning at Dundalk Garda station.
These latest deaths bring to 349 the number of people killed in road accidents this year.