Michael Commins
THE Parish Priest of Kiltimagh, Fr Paddy Kilcoyne, has made a heartfelt plea to young drivers to slow down and exercise caution on the roads. He was speaking at the funeral Mass for Seamus Walsh (26) from Goulboy, Kiltimagh, a passenger in a car being driver by Roy Dodgson (23), Rath Cluan, Kiltimagh, who also died in a horrific road smash at Bohola Road, Kiltimagh.
Fr Kilcoyne told the overflowing congregation at the Mass on Tuesday that everything changed in a few seconds. “Two young men were dead. Two young people full of the joys of life. It was an accident, an unexpected event and not intended to happen. But it also has to be said that it should not have happened.”
He said the tragedy should serve to forewarn other drivers, especially young drivers, not to drive too fast.
“Today, some young people see their cars as objects of art and beauty, power and speed. Too often, they don’t see the dangerous side of things. The most important thing is to drive within the limits. The other kind of driving should be confined to rallying on closed roads.
“Our roads were not built for very fast cars. Why can these cars do very high speeds? The person behind the wheel is responsible for his own safety and others. I appeal to young drivers to slow down.”
Fr Kilcoyne said such tragedies bring ‘great sorrow, great pain, great trauma for many people’.
Referring to Seamus Walsh, Fr Kilcoyne said that the thing people always associated with Seamus was the smile. “He always had a lovely smile on his face. He was very good-natured and kind. He played a Playstation game with his nephew Darren the night before he died.”
There were poignant scenes as his parents Dee and Mary, brother David and sister Bernie, grandfather Peter Burke and other members of the extended family circle, walked behind the coffin down the church aisle. Burial took place in Kilkinure Cemetery.
Later that evening, the removal of Roy Dodgson (23) took place from O’Hora’s Funeral Home to Kiltimagh with burial in Kilkinure Cemetery following Requeim Mass on Wednesday. The family moved to Kiltimagh from the Liverpool area some years ago. He is survived by his parents Cheryl and Trevor, brother David and sister Jenny.