Mother’s Day turned tragic on Irish roads as three women lost their lives in two separate road collisions in Cork and Waterford.
In County Cork, a devastating two-vehicle crash near Mallow claimed the lives of two women and left two children injured. The head-on collision occurred shortly before 4 p.m. on the N72, west of Cork Racecourse, during a time of high traffic volume due to Mother’s Day outings and local events.
Both women, believed to be from Cork—one in her 60s from North Cork and the other in her 40s—were driving the vehicles involved. Sadly, both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene.
The younger woman had been traveling with two children, aged eight and ten, who were reportedly returning from a Mother’s Day outing. They were immediately taken to Cork University Hospital for treatment. One child suffered serious leg fractures, though neither is believed to be in a life-threatening condition.
The road conditions at the time were clear with good visibility. Emergency services, including Gardaí, paramedics, and Cork Fire Brigade, responded swiftly. Several passing motorists also stopped to offer assistance. The road was closed to facilitate a detailed forensic examination by collision investigators, with diversions put in place.
In a separate incident, another fatal collision occurred earlier in the day in County Waterford. A woman in her 60s died following a three-car crash on the N25 at Moonameen around 2:10 p.m. She was a passenger in one of the vehicles and was pronounced dead at the scene. Her body was transferred to University Hospital Waterford’s mortuary.
The driver and passenger of a second car, both in their 50s, were seriously injured and taken to University Hospital Waterford. The driver of the third car, a woman in her 60s, was airlifted to Cork University Hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
Both roads were closed for several hours as emergency teams worked at the scenes. Gardaí have launched investigations into both incidents and will prepare reports for the respective coroners.
