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🇮🇪 Ireland /Disasters & Emergencies

Ballyhaunis in ‘shock and devastation’ after 12-year-old boy killed in rail collision

From Irish Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A 12-year-old boy, identified locally as Eoin Doyle, died when a train struck the car he was travelling in at a user-operated crossing near Kiltybo, County Mayo.
  • His father, Declan Doyle, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while all train passengers safely disembarked and received onward transport.
  • Ballyhaunis residents gathered at church and mourned the death after a recent period of celebration following Mayo’s All-Ireland football victory.

Ballyhaunis has been left in “shock and devastation” after 12-year-old Eoin Doyle died when a train struck the car carrying him and his father near Kiltybo, County Mayo.

Nobody thought in their wildest dreams that such a tragedy was going to unfold.

· Alma GallagherThe Ballyhaunis councillor described the community’s reaction to Eoin Doyle’s death.

The 6.15pm Irish Rail service from Dublin’s Heuston Station to Westport hit the car shortly before 9pm on Thursday. Eoin was fatally injured. His father, Declan Doyle, was taken to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

The pair, from nearby Guane, had been returning from Gaelic football training with St Jarlath’s, an underage team formed by players from Bekan and Ballyhaunis. Declan Doyle, a GAA trainer and member of the Mayo masters football team, had dropped another child home only minutes before the collision. Gardaí said all passengers on the train safely disembarked and that onward transport was arranged.

When I heard, I felt utter shock and devastation.

· Alma GallagherGallagher expressed her personal response to the fatal collision.

Eoin was a sixth-class pupil at Cloonfad National School in County Roscommon, where his twin sister Saoirse also attends. The siblings were among hundreds of Mayo supporters photographed with the Sam Maguire Cup at Ballyhaunis GAA Club after Mayo’s long-awaited All-Ireland senior football championship success on July 26.

There was a sombre tone.

· Fr Stephen FarragherThe parish priest described the mood in Ballyhaunis after the boy’s death.

That celebration has given way to mourning. Fr Stephen Farragher, parish priest in Ballyhaunis, said more people attended Mass on Friday morning and that the town had taken on “a sombre tone”. He said people often turn to the church to light a candle when they feel helpless. Councillor Alma Gallagher, a friend of the Doyle family, recalled another fatal road collision involving two teenagers in nearby Cloonfad in September 2024. “Tragedy united Ballyhaunis and Cloonfad,” she said, adding that once again bad news had come to the community’s doorstep.

Tragedy united Ballyhaunis and Cloonfad.

· Alma GallagherGallagher recalled a previous fatal road collision in the nearby area.
About this summary

Originally published by Irish Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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