West Mayo mourns the tragic death of community champion

A SEASIDE community is in mourning following the tragic death in a road accident yesterday evening of one of its best known and popular residents.

Padraig Doherty died when the pick-up vehicle he was driving left the road and crashed through a wall on the N59 (Ballycroy) road outside Mulranny.

Mr. Doherty, who was in his sixties, is a member of the Doherty family which his steeped in the business life of Mulranny.

His brother, Tom, and his family run the Costcutter Store and a bar in the west Mayo village.

It is understood that a 12-year-old boy, a son of the deceased, was in the vehicle when the accident occurred around 7 p.m. and, thankfully, he wasn’t seriously injured.

According to local county councillor Michael Holmes, the Mulranny area has been rocked by the tragedy.

“Padraig was involved in local construction projects as well as the aquaculture industry,” Councillor Holmes explained.

“He was deeply involved in many local initiatives including fund-raising for charity,” he continued.

Councillor Holmes went on to describe Mr. Doherty as a most careful individual who never smoked or drank.

No other vehicle was involved in the impact.

Emergency services attended the scene of the crash.

A post-mortem examination is to be carried out today at Mayo University Hospital.