A RECENTLY married woman expecting her first child and a teenager have died in a head-on collision.
The victims of the crash, which happened outside Bansha in south Tipperary, were Mary Enright (Walsh) (28), Dungarvan, Co Waterford, and Robert Stoker (17), Monkstown, Cork. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Gardaí were yesterday trying to establish the cause of the collision, which happened at 10.40pm on Monday on a stretch of the N24 between Waterford and Limerick.
The road was closed for much of yesterday while Garda investigators carried out a forensic examination of the location, less than 1km from the village of Bansha, on the Cahir side.
Ms Enright had been driving her car towards Limerick at the time.
It is understood two of her passengers – her husband Pat Enright and family friend Jack Lacey, a young golfer from Dungarvan – were seriously injured, although their injuries are not life-threatening.
Another young passenger did not sustain serious injuries.
Mr Enright – known as “Pa” – has lately been involved as a manager of the Abbeyside minor team in Dungarvan. Mr Lacey has represented Ireland in golf and was last year named Munster Junior Golfer of the Year. He is also on the Abbeyside minor team, as is the other passenger.
The couple, who married last year and were expecting their first child, had been bringing Mr Lacey back to Limerick, where he attends college.
They had all been at a minor football match between Abbeyside and St Patrick’s on Monday.
Gardaí are trying to establish the actions of Mr Stoker, who was alone in the car he was driving.
Monkstown parish priest Fr John Newman said he knew the Stoker family well. Robert was “one of the lads from around the area. I just heard about it myself, out in the parish. I called to see them but they weren’t home.”
Ms Enright’s family is from Dungarvan with connections in business and the GAA.
Her father, David Walsh, runs a print shop on Lower Main Street. Ms Enright was involved in the ink supply business.
“It’s unbelievable, devastating,” secretary of Abbeyside GAA club Bernard Shields said yesterday.
“The whole place is up in a heap, we can’t believe it. The two families, the Walshes and the Enrights, have been involved in our club for years and years.”
Diversions were in place on the Cahir bypass and on the Limerick side of Bansha for traffic using the N24. The badly damaged cars remained on the scene.
One local woman said the area was not known for being dangerous to traffic. “It wouldn’t be a blackspot,” she said.
Witnesses have been asked to contact gardaí in Tipperary town on 062-80670.