Family devastated as three die in crash
Three-year-old Tom lost his life in the crash
At a glance
Tom O'Reilly and his grandparents, Thomas and Bridget died in a crash in County Tipperary
It happened when a car hit a wall in the Windmill Knockbulloge area of Cashel
Another man and a woman, also relatives, were in the front of the car and are being treated for injuries
Gardaí (Irish police) say the family have been left devastated by the incident
- Published
A three-year-old boy and his grandparents have died following a road crash near Cashel in County Tipperary.
Thomas O'Reilly, 45, Bridget O'Reilly, 46, and their grandson Tom O'Reilly, died when the car they were travelling in struck a wall.
It happened shortly before 21:00 local time on Tuesday in the Windmill Knockbulloge area of Cashel.
A male and a female, both aged 22, were front occupants of the car and were removed from the scene to Tipperary University Hospital in Clonmel.
The man is being treated for serious injuries, while the woman is being treated for less serious injuries, gardaí said.
Supt Kieran Ruane said every member of the police expressed their sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased.
"Our local community here in Cashel is shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic road traffic collision," he said.
"I have spoken with the family of the deceased this morning, a family that is devastated by this terrible incident."
Bridget O'Reilly, 46, and her husband, 45-year-old Thomas
The road remains closed and is not expected to reopen for some time.
Gardaí have confirmed that all five occupants of the car were from the same family, with post mortems to be carried out on Wednesday.
An incident room had been established at Cahir Garda Station and a senior investigating officer has been appointed to lead the investigation.
Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to contact them.
They want road users who were travelling in the Windmill Knockbulloge area near Cashel between 20:30 and 21:15 on Tuesday, to make any dashcam footage they have available.
The crash happened shortly before 21:00 on Tuesday night.
The collision comes four days after four young people died in a crash in Clonmel, also in County Tipperary.
Parish priest Fr Enda Brady said there was a "numbness" over Cashel following the incident.
"It's coming so soon after the accident in Clonmel and involving a young child. People are absolutely devastated by what's happened.
"Some of the families in Clonmel have connections here in town, so you can imagine then this coming so soon has just caused absolute utter devastation."
'Shock and disbelief'
Sinn Féin TD for Tipperary Martin Browne said there was "shock and disbelief" at the second fatal crash in less than a week.
"We have had seven fatalities in the last week in Tipperary, the eldest 46 down to the three-year-old so it has been hard on all sections of the community.
"The funerals from last week, they are only starting tomorrow… and now here in Cashel we are faced with another couple of hard days."
Writing on social media, Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar offered his condolences to the friends and family of those who died.
"My thoughts are with everyone in Tipperary with this awful news coming so soon after the tragic deaths in Clonmel," he said.
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Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Micheál Martin described the deaths as "devastating".
He said: "The enormous sense of shock and grief in the community is shared by people across the country."
Independent TD for Tipperary Michael Lowry said that thoughts and prayers are with the relatives of those involved "as they receive this devastating news".