Slane marchers demand safety measures

The main Dublin-Derry road was brought to a standstill yesterday afternoon when hundreds of parents and children marched through…

The main Dublin-Derry road was brought to a standstill yesterday afternoon when hundreds of parents and children marched through Slane village and onto Slane Bridge demanding new safety measures be put in place.

The 600 people chanted "Save our lives not our bridge" and "We want action now". They passed the spot where on Monday afternoon last toddler David Garvey, who would have been two years old yesterday, died. His parents were seriously injured when a lorry went out of control and crushed the cars in which they were travelling.

Bouquets of flowers lay side by side with cuddly toys. Lorry drivers slowed down and turned off their engines as a mark of respect when they met the protest. It was organised by the Slane Bridge Action Group which was formed on Tuesday night out of the determination of local people that no other lives be lost.

Spokesman Mr Paul O'Brien said, "We want immediate action to make the bridge a safer place. We have three major demands: removal of traffic lights; lifting of the preservation order on the bridge so modifications can be carried out to make it a safer place to cross and, then setting up a third lane which would be a sand bunker lane so lorries in trouble can head there to stop in safety."

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He said the protest is not a knee-jerk reaction. "We have been campaigning here for the last 25 years with local councillors and TDs and politicians, with letters and meetings and promises but there has been no feedback on definite plans to make it a safer place."

If things stay as they are, he said, they will blockade the bridge completely and risk arrest by gardai.

"There have been enough deaths on the bridge, it is time something was done," said one mother who brought her young child with her.

Another woman said there were numerous other accidents but "because no one was seriously injured they went largely unnoticed".

Amongst the locals was Slane area Cllr Anne Dillon Gallagher who in January asked Meath County Council to take action and build a new bridge. "Today's protest sends a message to the National Roads Authority and the Minister for Environment that we are not going to be put off any longer. We want safety measures taken while we wait for a design for a new bridge."

Since Monday's tragedy she has been inundated with requests for the council to act.

"My phone hasn't stopped ringing with people asking me to do something. I am determined that on this occasion, we the Slane area councillors are not going to let this drop," she said.