A number of events took place across Ireland to mark the UN's World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
The day takes place on the third Sunday of November each year and gives families an opportunity to tell stories of loved ones they have lost as well as a reminder to the public of the devastation that road crashes cause.
Services took place in Dublin, Cork, Mayo, Louth, Kerry, Donegal, and at the Bloomfield House Hotel in Westmeath where over 100 people turned up for a commemoration event organised by the Irish Road Victims’ Association.
People sang, recited poems, and spoke of their own experiences while members of the gardaí, National Ambulance Service, and fire brigade attended.
Donna Price, President of the Irish Road Victims’ Association, said: "We come together in Mullingar to remember our loved ones killed on the roads, to support all of those impacted, bereaved family, seriously injured, their carers, and to acknowledge the wonderful work of emergency services."
Vice president of the association Leo Lieghio told of how his daughter Marsia was killed in 2005 aged just 16.
"She was a young girl full of life at that age, full of plans, wanting to be a midwife after school. She loved children and always had a baby in her arms."
Mr Lieghio said speaking with others who have experienced grief helps them all.
In 2011 Delia Flaherty, 33, was killed after a woman driving the wrong way down the M6 motorway in Moate, Co Westmeath, crashed into her.
An inquest had heard that the other driver, Helen Gonoude, who also died in the crash, had been drinking and was two-and-a-half times the legal limit at the time.
Ms Flaherty’s sister Catherine described her as an "amazing" sibling who she did everything with.
"She wasn’t as loud as me or talkative as me, she was quieter, and worked as a social worker for those with intellectual disabilities.
"I lived with her in college, and I just miss having conversations with her, even just to call her or text her."
Dave Mullins joined the Irish Road Victims’ Association when his brother Brian was killed in a collision in Roscommon in 2023.
"We as a family rallied in here with all the other families who’ve been affected by this.
"It’s not a club that anybody wishes to be a part of, but you become part of through the circumstances of the situation of losing somebody.
"And people are strong in numbers, and the advocacy of Donna Price and her team, in conjunction with the Road Safety Authority and Minister for Transport, there’s really positive change that can be achieved.
"Otherwise people don’t have a voice that can be heard, we are the voice for those who no longer have one to advocate for themselves.
"Brian was a father, a brother, a nephew, a son. He was 40 years of age, in the prime of his life and was a great guy.
"He had the ability to light up a room and had a genuine interest in people.
"He was a great listener, and a great future ahead of him and to think of what happened to him is unbelievable. You reflect on these things and realise that life is short."
Consultant in Emergency Medicine in Cork University Hospital Dr Eoin Fogarty spoke about giving care to people who have been involved in collisions, and what it is like speaking with their families afterwards.
"I get to see a patient for a very brief period of time in the grand scheme of things, and these people here are those who see their loved ones, who they’ve spent decades with, suddenly taken away from them.
"I find it very hard to listen to these stories, but it is brilliant that we can gather here today and speak about it," Dr Fogarty said.
