Aontú TD for Mayo, Paul Lawless has expressed his sadness over the tragedy which occurred near Ballyhaunis last night.
Speaking today, Deputy Lawless said: “The community is in grief at this awful news. It is a terrible shock and a heartbreaking loss”
The Deputy said that his thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young boy who died last night near Ballyhaunis and called for a review of safeguards at rural level crossings.
The TD lives in the locality and says the whole community has been shocked and deeply saddened by the loss.
Deputy Lawless continued: “We have yet to hear the details, but it would seem to be a freak accident. I can’t recall such a fatal crash on a rail line ever happening here before. It is very rare in Ireland. It is heartbreaking to think this lad was at the start of his young life, coming home from training and with everything ahead of him. I believe he had only recently had the joy of seeing the Sam Maguire when Mayo captain Jack Coyne brought it to Ballyhaunis GAA club”.
“To think his life was snatched away in such a tragic way is horrifying. We are all thinking of his family and his father who is in hospital after the accident. I am familiar with this particular crossing. In general, these are very rural and are not automated and can be little more than traffic lights with gates that users open and shut. Sometimes at these intersections, the gates are left open and so, without the barrier, it is not immediately clear it is a train crossing, to a motorist who may not be familiar with it. In the aftermath of this particular incident, we will have to ensure that there are adequate safety measures and warning systems in place at such rural level crossings. There will have to be a full review of such safeguards and an investigation to establish what happened”, concluded Lawless.
