Road safety chiefs have expressed alarm after five deaths on the roads in the first nine days of the year.

The latest fatality was a man seriously injured in a collision with a cyclist while walking in Clonmel on Monday evening.

The man who passed away at South Tipperary General Hospital has been named as Thomas O’Brien from the Co Tipperary town, but originally from Co Wexford.

Another fatality involved a two-vehicle collision outside Killarney, Co Kerry, which killed a man and also left an elderly woman fighting for her life.

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It occurred shortly before 7am at Finnegan’s Cross outside Kilcummin, and involved a collision between two cars.

A man – named locally as Eddie Kelliher – was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at University Hospital Kerry (UHK) in Tralee.

A woman was treated for critical injuries and was last night reported to be fighting for her life.

The third person hospitalised – a middle-aged woman – was being treated for serious but non-life threatening injuries at UHK.

Gardaí immediately closed the section of road and a forensic team conducted an examination of the scene.

Gardaí are now appealing for anyone with information, particularly any road users travelling in the area at the time of the collision, to come forward.

They may also have camera footage and are asked to contact Killarney garda station on (064) 6671160 or the Garda Confidential line on (1800) 666111.

It was the second fatal collision in Co Kerry in the space of just four days.

Four fatal accidents in total have happened in Kerry, Limerick and Offaly – with a person dying every 48 hours so far in 2020.

It represents three more deaths than for the same period in 2019.

Deaths on the roads increased by 4pc last year compared to 2018, which ranked as the safest year since records began in 1959.

A total of 148 people lost their lives last year compared to 142 in 2018.

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