The deaths of a mother and her eight-year-old daughter in a road crash near Swinford in Co Mayo yesterday evening have left the local community "heartbroken beyond words".
Aisling Moore, who was 46, and her daughter Abbigael, were killed after a car and a lorry were involved in a collision on the N26 at Callow, between Foxford and Swinford, shortly before 6pm yesterday.
The driver of the lorry was taken to hospital with injuries which are understood to be non-life threatening.
Swinford Athletic Club, where Abbigael was a member, said the local athletic community is "heartbroken beyond words".
In a post on Facebook, the club said Abbigael joined when she was just five-years-old and "was the first child waiting for the gate to open every Tuesday evening rain, hail or shine and never missed a session, such was her love and enthusiasm for running, cartwheels and having fun".
The club said Ms Moore helped out at the club as much as possible and was "always ready for her supervision duties and the first to offer if we needed help in running any event".
Abbigael was also member of the U-10 Kiltimagh GAA team and was described as a "kind, bubbly and fun loving girl". The club paid tribute to Abbigael saying she "will be missed dearly by us all, not least her family and her dear friends.
"We hold Aisling and Abbigael's family and friends in our thoughts and prayers".
The pair were described by members as "inseparable".
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Adette Gallagher said the two had recently completed a 5k fundraiser together for a new running track.
"Aisling was a member of the Fit for Life group. Herself and Abbigael were always together and hugely popular members of the club," Ms Gallagher said.
She said the grief in Swinford was profound, and their hearts went out to the Moore family and to Abbigael's father who lives in France, adding that Abbigael visited him every year.
"It’s just devastating and heartbreaking all round."
Clann Machua Drama group described Ms Moore as "ever positive and ever warm", saying she joined the group in recent years and "always had a supportive message for any of the group taking part in shows".
Foxford Parish Priest Fr Padraig Costello attended the scene of the crash, where he said prayers and blessed Ms Moore and her daughter.
"All I could think of was the family because they would be getting the news later on ... it was just so, so sad.
"It was a devastating scene. All the emergency services were there, the gardaí, fire brigade, ambulances, and I really have to compliment them on the way they do their work," Fr Costello said.
He said giving families terrible news like this is one of the most difficult aspects of being a priest.
"It is the most difficult thing a priest has ever to do because what can you say to people?"
Fr Costello added that the community would rally around to support the victims' families.
Fianna Fáil Councillor for Swinford John Caulfield said that when news broke of the incident it was "like a cloud fell over the town".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Caulfield said his thoughts and prayers are with the family and said people in the town are "just silent this morning, in shock".
"You can only imagine the young child starting off the summer holidays with all the dreams of spending time with her parents, grandparents and days out, all cut short, never to be again."
Aisling Moore and her daughter Abbigael were described as "inseparable". They recently ran a 5k fundraiser for a running track in Swinford. Another sad 24 hrs on our roads @swinfordac @rtenews @RSAIreland @KiltimaghGAA #heartbreaking pic.twitter.com/M117RcbSc9
— Teresa Mannion (@TeresaMannion) July 3, 2024
Mr Caulfield said Swinford is a close community and people will rally around the family following the tragedy.
Earlier, Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty said weather conditions were good, but said that the stretch of road where the collision occurred has "a number of bends and governed by double white lines".
Gardaí have appealed to anyone who may have camera footage and were travelling on the N26 between Swinford and Foxford between 5pm and 6pm yesterday to contact Ballina Garda Station on 096 20560, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station.
The N26 road has reopened after diversions were put in place following the incident.
So far this year 97 people have been killed on Irish roads, up 12 on the same period last year.
This figure includes two fatalities in Co Westmeath this week.
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Supt Geraghty said that the first quarter of 2024 was particularly bad, with 59 people dying on roads compared to 42 the previous year.
"Again, obviously, this is very early in July at the start of the summer months, and it is not a good start to our statistics.
"It is a tragedy for the families, and my thoughts and the thoughts of every member of An Garda Síochána go out to those bereaved families this morning."
He said travelling on the road is the "most dangerous thing that you will do every day".
He confirmed that Garda Commissioner Drew Harris’s scheme that required all uniformed gardaí to carry out 30 minutes of high visibility, of road policing is still happening.
The operation, he added, aims to increase garda visibility on roads to try and moderate driver behaviour.
Additional reporting Teresa Mannion
