Woman whose father, son and brother died on dangerous road urges route to be improved – The Irish Times

There are two stone markers on the old Dublin-Belfast road in Co Louth, opposite the Monasterboice Inn, also known as Donegan’s. Although the stretch of road is a 60 km/h zone, few motorists slow down enough to notice.

A marker marks the memory of Shane Whelan (19), who was murdered 11 years ago as he crossed the road from the Monasterboice Inn to his grandmother’s house.

Across a street less than 10 yards away is a stone memorial to his grandfather, Don McCullough, who died crossing the same stretch of road on May 4, 1991. He died on his 51st birthday. The family tragedy does not end there.

At the end of the alley between the two places where those deaths occurred is the McCullough family home. In 1982, Séamus McCullough, then just 17 months old, died while walking in front of a milkman’s van.

“We are absolutely devastated by three tragedies in our family. Our lives will never be the same,” said Shane’s mother, Bernie Whelan.

“We thought about all the things Shane and dad (Don) lost in our families. “They were a very important part of the family and the local community.”

On October 27, 2013, Shane Whelan attended his uncle’s bachelor party at the Monasterboise Inn. He decided to leave his suitcases at his grandmother’s house when he was hit by a car and died.

Shane “loved life,” his mother said. He was minor player of the year in 2012 with his local club Naomh Mairtin and worked part-time at the Monasterboise Inn. He was studying sports and recreation at Drogheda College of Higher Education. His whole life was ahead of him.

The stone marker to remember Shane was placed to mark the 10th anniversary of his death. He would be 30 years old now. The family will celebrate an anniversary mass for him and a gathering at his home on Sunday.

The loss of her father, son and brother in road accidents has made Mrs Whelan especially aware of the fragility of life and how poor decisions on the road leave families devastated.

The Whelan family later discovered that the traffic lights on the stretch of road had been out of operation for three years before Shane died in 2013. In 2001, a couple, traveling to Australia the next day, died just meters away. from where he died.

Mrs Whelan is now campaigning for a number of measures which she believes will ensure there are no more deaths on the roads.

Last year, the flashing lights that signaled drivers entering a 60 km/h zone were turned off in a collision and were not replaced. On the other side of the road there is a double traffic light with a central island. When a traffic light is green, drivers can speed up, but on the other side they are red at the same time.

She believes it would be easy for a pedestrian to think that the crosswalk was free to cross at both ends and that they could walk directly into passing traffic.

Ms Whelan said she contacted Fianna Fáil Louth general election candidate Alison Comyn because she was exasperated by the current situation. “This has been going on for a year now and nothing is done about it. It’s another accident waiting to happen. “I don’t want other families to go through what we have gone through.”

Ms Comyn said she asked the council to carry out an urgent study of the road and then implement any necessary corrective measures.