Today (Sunday, 16th November) we think of all those who have lost their lives or who have been seriously injured on roads in Carlow, Kilkenny and beyond.
It’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims and the Road Safety Authority is leading the charge for the national commemoration.
Unfortunately, too many of our communities have had to say goodbye to loved ones killed in crashes, at least eight people so far in 2025 across both counties, while countless others have been left with life changing injuries.
It comes as Ireland mourns the latest losses in a crash in County Louth last night.
To highlight the plight, KCLR with radio stations across the country have been taking part in a campaign during which songs on air are cut short to signify the impact of a road incident.
At a special ceremony organised by the RSA speakers included Stephen Doyle, who spoke about the unimaginable loss of his three brothers, Darren, David and Ryan, killed together in a collision in 2012, and Jacinta McIntyre who remembered her sister Sarah, killed in 1999.
“Losing my three brothers in one moment shattered our world,” explained Stephen. “There are no words for the heavy, heavy silence that follows — the empty chairs, the birthdays that never come. The loss didn’t stop with them; it rippled through every part of our family. Children were left without their fathers; my parents lost three sons in an instant. You learn to live around the grief, but it never leaves you.”
The gathering also included anemotional musical tribute from Steve Wall, lead singer of The Stunning, who performed in memory of his three-year-old niece Eistlin, who was killed on her way to crèche in 2017. Her father, Steve’s brother Vinny, was seriously injured in the collision, caused by a truck driver who later pleaded guilty to careless driving.
KCLR News has previously heard from local emergency services personnel who are dispatched to scenes following crashes and some spoke of the impact on them too.
