During his many years driving, our motoring correspondent Brian McDaid has witnessed enough tragedy on Donegal’s roads. Here he takes poignant look at the reminders of death on our roads and asks what can be done about stopping it.
Those left behind
A lost life remembered. A new wreath of flowers at and old accident spot on the Lifford to Letterkenny Road. Photo Brian McDaid
I was heading past the old Tullyrap Creamery on the Letterkenny to Lifford N14 last Sunday morning. As the road straighten in front of me I spotted a wreath of flowers attached to a wooden fence. I have seen flowers at this spot on many occasions over the years but today the red of these roses looked so vibrant against the grass in the field in the background. On my return journey with the vision of the flowers still in my head I stopped briefly and took a picture of the them placed along the road.
I don’t know who lost their life at this spot, but I know one thing – that person meant the world to someone. At the top of the fence a couple of rusty nails tell us of the years of pain that someone has suffered making the journey to this tragic spot on the road and secured the flowers with a piece of bailing twine to the wooden fence in memory of their loved one they have lost.
Battle scars
A couple of miles down this same road in the direction of Letterkenny, an old sycamore tree bares the battle scars of life along one of Donegal’s busiest roads.
Over 30 years ago heading back from Raphoe one night I came across an accident. The ambulance had just arrived at the scene before me. The single car, a Vauxhall was partly off the road after hitting one of the big trees. The driver had died on impact and the ambulance was sent out from Letterkenny to pick up his remains.
The Ambulance driver on duty that night was the late Henry Murray who was a great friend of my father’s so I offered to give him a hand in the removal of the remains. Henry was hesitant with my offer and probably thought that the Gardai might have been at the accident and they could have given him a hand.
The trees along the road side on the N14 Gifford to Letterkeny all bare battle scars of life along the roads in Donegal. Photo Brian McDaid
After asking me if I was sure I didn’t mind lifting the remains with him we started to get the man out of the crashed car and on to a stretcher. I don’t think that experience had any long lasting effect on me. At eighteen or nineteen years of age being first hand at the scene of of an accident didn’t make me slow down in my driving. like all young male drivers in particular , we all thought in our small minds that we were good drivers, not good safe drivers, just good capable drivers.
For years after, I always remember passing that spot on the road and looking for the Sycamore tree minus half it bark which was removed the night the Vauxhall car collided with it . As I stopped this week to get a photo of this tree along the busy road I couldn’t help but notice that all or most of the trees had battle scars on that small section of road. everyone one of them scars are silent reminders of how fragile human life is . I never got to know who I helped the ambulance driver lift out of that crashed car, that night only that it was a musician who some one believed was from Northern Ireland.
Speed kills.
A member of the Garda Traffic Corps operated a speed camera on the duel carriageway into Letterkenny. Photo Brian McDaid
We spent a morning this week looking at the traffic flowing in and out of Letterkenny. Three major routes from Dublin, Derry and Galway end up on the one road into Letterkenny, The N13 from Inishowen and Derry meet up with the N14 from Lifford and Dublin and join up on the duel carriage way into the town. The N56 from Sligo/Galway then joins this busy road into the town.
Three of the main arteries into Letterkenny from Derry, Dublin and Sligo/Galway are now on the way into Letterkenny and the traffic is still travelling at the national speed limit of 100kph. On the lesser roads into Letterkenny, like for example the Ramelton Rd, traffic is slowed 3 miles outside town, the Kilmaccrennan Rd – traffic is calmed at 2 miles outside the town and the Glenties Road is calmed at 1.7 miles outside the town.
A car tries to turn right onto the Cullion Rd. from the N56 at the Port Bridge in Letterkenny as four lanes of traffic travel legally at 100 KPH all around it. Photo Brian McDaid
On the N56 into the town the traffic is only reduced in speed at the Port Bridge. The distance from the Port Bridge to the Main Street in Letterkenny is just under I mile and that’s how close the busiest national roads in Donegal gets into Letterkenny before the speed of the traffic is reduced to 60kms
The speed reduction signs in Termon along the main N56 road which would be of great help if introduced from the Dry Arch roundabout to the Port Bridge to reduce the speed of traffic in and out of the town.Photo Brian McDaid
I can’t see the reasoning in having the traffic travel at full speed from the Dry Arch Roundabout to the Port Bridge . There is no effort to calm the speed of traffic on this approach Rd into Letterkenny. If you consider that the traffic on the same N56 is reduced in speed to 60 Kph to go past the church and graveyard in Termon. There has to be a case for a traffic speed reduction on the N56 into Letterkenny on what was known as the old Derry Rd.
The double crossing on the N13 into Letterkenny on the duel carriageway , Motorist have to cross four lanes of traffic that are travelling at up to 100kph. Photo Brian McDaid
Further out the Derry Road on the duel carriageway the speed should also be reduced to 60kms for the junction in the middle of that duel carriageway. In an ideal world both of these roads should have a continuous barrier to prevent traffic going against double flows of fast moving heavy traffic. But that looks as it’s never going to happen. In the mean time a simple reduction in the speed of the traffic on both section of roads should be considered even if it only was a temporary measure to help eliminate some of the risk in the these dangerous parts of the road.
To Manor from Montana
New opportunities for mobile coffee shop on the wild Atlantic Way. This was the view from the viewing point in Manorcunningham. Photo Brian McDaid
The word is out that the coffee at the Manorcunningam View carpark of the Wild Atlantic Way is drawing visitor and locals off the busy road for a refreshing rest and a view of the beautiful Big Isle and Letterkenny in the background. Brendan who is originally from Montana moved to Ireland for a better life, he now has set up his coffee caravan at the viewing carpark at Manorcunningham and is serving fine coffee to his ever increasing customer base.
A big thank you
Some of the fans and sponsors involved in James Cullen’s return to rallying for his 25th Anniversary of his 1st win in 1991. The function was held at the Station House Hotel. Photo Brian McDaid
On behalf of the team that put the package together for James Cullen to celebrate and compete on the Donegal Rally on the 25th anniversary of his first home win , I would like to thank everyone that supported and helped our cause in anyway. We had a great get together last Friday night at the Station House Hotel and enjoyed a night of great memories of James Cullen’s rallying career.
Happy motoring folks
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