The family of an 18-month-old boy who died in a road traffic incident in Co Clare yesterday has been left devastated by the tragedy, Ennis parish priest Fr Tom Ryan has said.
The boy, named locally as Hunter Molloy, was hit by a car at a permanent Traveller accommodation site outside the town occupied by his family and other relatives.
He was the youngest sibling in a family of three with two older sisters. His mother is due to give birth to a fourth child in a couple of months.
Fr Ryan told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that life changed in a split second for the family, which is "confused, upset and bewildered" by the tragedy.
"It's totally confusing for the family to have to deal with the emotions that have come on them so suddenly and so unexpectedly," he said.
"All we can do as a community is journey with them and help them in their pain," Fr Ryan added.
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Gardaí and emergency services were called to the scene at around lunchtime yesterday.
The boy was taken to University Hospital Limerick with critical injuries, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Fr Ryan, who had married his parents Peter and Alisha and christened their children, led prayers at the site last night.
He knew Alisha from Shannon where he was a parish priest for a number of years, and Peter is originally from Limerick.
Gardaí have appointed a family liaison officer to support them.
