THE family of a “lovely” young woman who died in a freak accident on a Christmas night out have said they are overwhelmed by the response to a fundraiser to help cover her funeral costs.

Megan O’Connor (18), from Glenshane in Tallaght in Dublin, was enjoying a night out with friends in Crumlin when she slipped in the early hours of December 23.

The popular teenager had been carrying a glass vodka bottle in her waistband and it’s understood that when she fell on the Sundrive Road that the glass shattered and caused a fatal cut to an artery.

Her cousin Ashley Byrne told Independent.ie that he is still trying to come to terms with what happened.

Ashley (31) said: “I still can’t understand it, I remember I woke up on December 23 and saw posts on Facebook that people had shared about Megan.

“I called family and they explained what had happened overnight, it was just a nightmare, I’m trying to get my head around it but it is hard for everyone.

“It’s very early days and it’s hard to accept what happened to Megan, she was a lovely girl and had her whole life ahead of her.”

Dozens of family members and friends paid their respects to Megan at her funeral at the Church of St Thomas in Jobstown, Tallaght last week.

Ashley said that he decided to try to help alleviate some of the financial pressure for Megan’s devoted mother Tina by setting up an online fundraiser to cover the funeral expenses.

“Funerals cost thousands these days so I wanted to help with that, I thought even people could only give €2 or €3 it would all add up but so far it’s raised around €2,500 so far, which I really wasn’t expecting.

“As you see the donations coming in it really is overwhelming and shows the goodwill of people.

“Irish people have always been known for coming together so I shouldn’t be surprised by how kind everyone has been.”

He added that he would like to warn people about what happened to Megan.

“She was such a lovely girl, very active, she always liked a bit of banter and was popular.

“She was carrying a glass bottle on a night out and that’s such an innocent thing to do and I think most of us have done it at some point but unfortunately if you fall it can be fatal.

“I just want people to think twice before considering carrying glass in their waistband or pocket.”

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