Three people died in accidents yesterday, bringing to six the number of fatalities on Irish roads in the past 48 hours. They include the stage manager of the Druid Theatre, Mr Bernie Walsh (39), who died in a motorcycle accident.
Mr Walsh was killed when his motorcycle collided with a van on the Galway-Moycullen road, a few miles outside the city, as he drove home from work at 1.45 a.m.
The driver of the van was arrested shortly afterwards. Mr John Joseph Fallon, of Letterince, Cashel, Connemara, appeared in court yesterday charged with dangerous driving and failing to remain at the scene of the accident. He was released on his own bail of £5,000 and an independent surety of £1,000. A file on the incident is being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
From Ugool, Moycullen, Co Galway, Mr Walsh was married with three children. He had worked with Druid since 1983 and was full-time with the company since 1989.
Druid Theatre's general manager, Ms Louise Donlon, said yesterday that Mr Walsh's death would leave a huge void in the company. "He was from Galway and knew everyone in Galway. Any problem we ever had he could sort it. Bernie was one of those people who worked behind the scenes to make everything happen. We are devastated".
The founder of Galway Arts Festival, Mr Ollie Jennings, described Mr Walsh as a tremendous worker who "could make the impossible happen. "He worked in the production of major festival shows such as Els Comedients and Footsbarn and created great venues out of nothing." Galway Arts Festival's current chairman, Mr Padraic Boran, also a music promoter, paid tribute to Mr Walsh, too.
"Bernie was involved in the arts since his student days in UCG, firstly in the Students' Union entertainments, where he worked as crew. He also worked on all the major music gigs in Galway throughout the 1980s and was on the stage crew of Feile before he joined Druid full-time. He was one of those people who worked away quietly and whose contribution to Galway's art scene wouldn't have been widely known about. Everybody is shocked by his death".
The second person killed yesterday was a Co Monaghan man who died in the early hours of the morning when his car struck a tree and burst into flames. Mr Brian McCabe (24), single, of Cooltrim, Latton, died instantly. The accident happened on the Ballybay-Shercock road at Garrybawn, Co Monaghan. His car was found at 4 a.m. by a passing motorist, but no other witnesses to the accident have so far come forward.
In Derry a pedestrian died after being struck by a car. He was identified by police as Mr Bernard McCarron from the Benview estate in Coshquin.
On Monday afternoon a teenage girl died when she was struck by a wheel which came off a lorry in Co Donegal. Denise Doran (15), of Colehill, Newtowncunningham, died when the wheel hit her and her brother and sister. Her brother, Brian (5), remained in a critical condition last night in Beaumont Hospital, and her sister, Stacey (8), was said to be stable in Letterkenny General Hospital.
Earlier on Monday an elderly couple, Ms Nora O'Sullivan (80) and her husband, Michael (79), died when their car collided with a truck between Buttevant and Mallow.
Two women had a narrow escape when their car was in collision with an articulated truck on the Naas dual carriageway at Kill, Co Kildare, yesterday afternoon.
The car was stopped at the traffic lights on the southbound carriageway when the accident occurred.
Rescue services worked for nearly an hour to free the mother and daughter from the wreckage of their car which was embedded in the side of the articulated lorry. They and the truck driver were removed to hospital.