A woman and her two daughters killed in a Co Mayo crash have been named as Una, Ciara, and Saoirse Bowden.
The collision involving a lorry and a car occurred in the Castlegar area outside of Claremorris on Tuesday.
Una Bowden, 47, who was driving the car, and the two girls who were passengers in the vehicle, were fatally injured. Ciara was aged 14 and Saoirse was aged nine.
It is understood Una’s husband, David Bowden, had been working in Ethiopia and is on his way home.
Tributes have been paid to the mother and two daughters who died in a traffic collision in Co Mayo. They were living in the Maigh Cuilinn area of Co Galway and parish priest Fr Martin Whelan says the community is "devastated" | Read more: https://t.co/kIQqynNRav pic.twitter.com/Xs4mdOq16k
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 27, 2024
Tanaiste Micheal Martin has said “we’re all horrified and traumatised” by the deaths.
“Our hearts and our thoughts go out to the family and to the wider community, their family and friends, it is a shocking loss of life.
“Such beautiful, young people who were really participants in sporting clubs, as we heard this morning on radio.
“This is a shocking loss of life.”
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to come forward and investigators have also asked the public to not share images of the crash scene.
The Bowden family were natives of the Moycullen area of Co Galway.
In a statement online, a basketball club in Moycullen said: “It is with enormous sadness that Cumann Cispheile Mhaigh Cuilinn has learned of the tragic deaths of our neighbours and clubmates Una, Ciara, and Saoirse Bowden.
“The Bowdens were active in many sports throughout our community.
“Ciara had been selected for the Galway Area girls under-14 basketball team.
“The thoughts and prayers of everyone in Cumann Cispheile Mhaigh Cuilinn are with the family, friends, and teammates of the Bowden family.
“We cannot possibly fathom their grief but we send them our love and support.”
Community ‘devastated’ by the deaths
Prayers were offered for the family at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Maigh Cuilinn, where those attending included classmates of the girls.
Speaking to RTÉ, parish priest Fr Martin Whelan said the local community was “devastated” by the loss.
He said the family had been at the heart of community life, with Mrs Bowden involved with the parents’ association to fundraising for schools and the children with sports and social clubs.
Last night’s prayer service was dedicated to the family.
“It was an opportunity for the community to gather also,” he said.
The Irish Times report that David Bowden, the husband and father, was travelling back to Ireland.
A project manager for the United Nations, he was said to have been working on a humanitarian project in the Tigray area of Ethiopia.
It was also reported that Mrs Bowden was originally from Co Donegal and had previously lived with her husband in Africa for a number of years before moving to Galway.
Any road users who may have camera footage (including dashcam) are asked to make this footage available to Gardai.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Claremorris Garda Station on 094 9372080, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
