'A horrifically black day for Mayo' due to two tragedies

Consecutive tragedies today in which a total of five people – including a mother and two of her children – lost their lives has been described as “a horrifically black day for Mayo."

Councillor Michael Loftus, cathoirleach of Mayo County Council, was commenting in the wake of a fire disaster in Swinford in which a business couple, Tom and Eileen Mahon, lost their lives and the deaths later of a mother and her two daughters in a road crash on the N17 near Claremorris.

“March 26, 2024 will go down as one of the darkest days ever in Mayo," Councillor Loftus commented.

“Our hearts go out to all the bereaved families," he continued.

“The N17 tragedy brings to mind the terrible accident in 2017 when three generations of a Belmullet family, the Wilsons – a grandmother, her daughter and her grandson – lost their lives on the same stretch of roadway between Knock and Ballindine."

This afternoon’s fatal collision at Castlegar, Claremorris, involved a car and an articulated lorry.

The vehicles were travelling in opposite directions.

First aid responders at the scene of the crash reported heartrending scenes.

The three victims were pronounced dead at the crash location before being removed to Mayo University Hospital, Castlebar, for post-mortem examinations.

No details as to the identity of the victims have yet been released but they are believed to be from west Co. Galway.

Gardai are asking that any witnesses to the accident or motorists with dashcam footage contact them.

Concerns about the stretch of N17 primary route between Knock and Ballindine where the Wilsons were killed in 2017 were sounded by the Coroner for the District of Mayo, Pat O’Connor, at a subsequent inquest into their deaths.

Mr. O’Connor, highlighting dangers posed by junctions, said driving on the route was “like playing Russian roulette."