Funeral of teen victim of road crash
Large crowds turned out in Thurles on Tuesday last to attend the funeral of the local teenager who died in a crash in Rearcross on Thursday of last week.
There were moving scenes as 15-year-old Leah O’ Meara was laid to rest in St Patrick’s Cemetery in the town following her Requiem Mass at Bóthar Na Naomh Church. Huge numbers also attended her reposal at her home in Thurles on Monday.
Leah died when the car in which she was a passenger crashed into another car at around 6.45pm on the R503 at Rearcross.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, while three other people travelling in the car, a man and woman in their 20s and a second teenager, were taken to Limerick University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
In a heartfelt tribute on social media, Leah’s older sister Katie O’ Meara paid tribute to her, saying she was her “best friend” and described her as a “beautiful sister”.
“I love you so much, unconditionally, baby girl,” she said. “I still just can’t believe this is after happening to me - what am I meant to do now; how can I move forward without you?”
Katie described Leah as her “whole world and more”.
The news of the crash resulted in an outpouring of grief online from young friends who knew Leah.
Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to the collision to come forward.
A garda spokesman said: “Anyone with camera footage (including dashcam) from the area at the time is requested to come forward.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Nenagh Garda Station at 067 50450, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.
This latest road fatality in Tipperary comes after a tragic year in 2023 when the county recorded the highest number of road deaths in the entire State.
Two horrific crashes in quick succession last August shocked the county and the nation as seven people lost their lives on the county’s roads. A three-year-old boy and his two grandparents died in a single-vehicle crash in Cashel, just days after a tragic vehicle crash in Clonmel claimed the lives of four young people.