Teen killed in crash just months after road death of debs partner
BY THE time Cathal Higgins had had the photo from his debs framed, he had helped carry his date to her grave. Aisling McGing, 18 and a ladies all-Ireland football champion, was killed in a car crash last July on her way to watch Mayo play Galway.
Now - just nine months later - Cathal, 19, has also died in a road accident. The teenagers, both from the Westport area of Co Mayo, had been friends since national school.
Cathal was testing out a friend's new motorbike last weekend when he was involved in an accident with a tractor and a car at Killawalla. He was pronounced dead on the roadside.
His mother Mary had just driven past the scene, near the family's home in Arderry when she got a call to say Cathal had been in a crash.
"I'm still in shock. It was a silly accident. It should never have happened," she said.
Mrs Higgins says Cathal, one of 10 children, was "awfully upset" when Aisling died. He had come home from work in England to combine a brother's wedding with the debs. As he was on his way to the airport to return to England, he was told Aisling was dead. Cathal was a pallbearer at her funeral.
Aisling's death followed the death of another friend in a motorbike accident.
"He picked out a photo from the debs and asked for it to be framed," Mrs Higgins said. Cathal, who was in his first year at Sligo Institute of Technology, was buried on Tuesday.
Less than a week before the funeral the driver of the car in which Aisling lost her life was sent to prison. David Reilly, who was going out with Aisling at the time of her death, was sentenced to three months in prison for driving without insurance and making a false declaration of a vehicle change of ownership form. He was also give a six month suspended sentence for dangerous driving causing his girlfriend's death.
Cathal Higgins is one of 124 people killed in traffic accidents so far this year. There were five deaths last week.
On Wednesday, an 80-year-old man died at Abbeyland, Duleek, Co Meath when his car was involved in a collision with a lorry. His name has not been released.
On Monday a man in his 20s was killed following a collision between a car and a tractor on the Waterford to Dunmore Road.
In another accident on the same day Darragh Dooley, 25, of Castle Lawn Heights, Headford Road, Galway was killed when his car hit a tree at Moate, Co Westmeath. On Saturday Patsy Hardiman, a 73-year-old bachelor from Galway, was killed when his jeep collided with a tractor and trailer at Loughturk West, Kiltormer. The accident occurred near Mr Hardiman's farm just before 5pm.
Gardai in Thurles are appealing for witnesses after the body of a 55-year-old man was found on the N8 between Dublin and Cork at Johnstown, Co Kilkenny. The man's body was found lying on the side of the road beside his bicycle about half a mile from the Dublin side of Johnstown at about 11.50pm on Friday night. It is not known if he was involved in a road accident. Gardai say the road was busy.
