MOURNERS at the funeral of the one of the four young women killed in a collision on the Galway-Mayo border last week were told that the National Roads Authority should step up and “do its duty”.
This was the message from Connemara priest Fr Micheal O’Braonain, speaking at the funeral of Teresa Molloy. “We have been consumed with sad-ness over the last few days, but we should also be very angry with our leaders and the NRA. I’ve no doubt in my mind if that 8km stretch of road between Ballindine and Tuam was of a standard in keeping with the rest of the roadway from Charlestown to Galway, we would not be grieving the loss of four very special young women this day.
“The National Roads Authority should do their duty. We ask authority figures to belatedly respect the memory of the four girls. They should start now, not in 10 or 20years time.”
Meanwhile, gardaí in Tuam are appealing to motorists driving on the N17 stretch from Ballindine to Milltown to slow down. This is a notoriously dangerous stretch of road and the bad weather conditions last week made the road treacherous for motorists.
Tuam Sergeant Martin Connor is also appealing to the NRA to improve the road. “This is something that will have to be taken up with the NRA and the county councils in Mayo and Galway.”
Sergeant Connor’s appeal comes just three months after a 45-year-old Swinford man was killed on the same stretch of road.
Floral tributes adorn the spot at Carrownurlaur, where last week's accident occurred.
Communities across Mayo and Galway are still trying to come to terms with the tragedy - the worst traffic accident to happen in the region in the last 20 years. The families of the four young university students gathered in churches across Galway and Mayo over the weekend to pay their final farewell to their loved ones, Sarah Byrne from Headford; Teresa Molloy from Leitir Mor, Connemara; Marie Stephanie Ní Conghaíle from Rossaveal; and Sorcha Rose McLoughlin from Mulgannon in Wexford.
Their friend Michelle O’Donnell (21) from Inis Mór, Aran Islands, is still in a critical condition in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.
