Mother and daughters killed in Mayo crash named as husband travels to Ireland

The three victims of a fatal road traffic collision in Co Mayo on Tuesday have been named.

Una Bowden (47) and her daughters Ciara (14) and Saoirse (9) died in the incident on the N17, a short distance from Claremorris, at about 2pm on Tuesday.

The car driven by Ms Bowden was involved in a collision with an articulated lorry.

David Bowden, husband of Una and father to Ciara and Saoirse, is travelling back to Ireland, according to The Irish Times. Mr Bowden is a project manager with the United Nations and had been working on a humanitarian project in the Tigray area of Ethiopia.

The family lived in Gortachalla near Moycullen, a Gaeltacht area in west Galway. Relatives of the deceased have been informed.

It is with enormous sadness that Cumann Cispheile Mhaigh Cuilinn has learned of the tragic deaths of our neighbours and clubmates Una, Ciara, and Saoirse Bowden. The Bowdens were active in many sports throughout our community. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/d4o1fdS9qH

— Cumann Cispheile Mhaigh Cuilinn (@moycullenbasket) March 27, 2024

In a social media post on Wednesday evening, local basketball club Cumann Cispheile Mhaigh Cuilinn said: "It is with enormous sadness that Cumann Cispheile Mhaigh Cuilinn has learned of the tragic deaths of our neighbours and clubmates Una, Ciara, and Saoirse Bowden. The Bowdens were active in many sports throughout our community.

"Ciara had been selected for the Galway Area girls under-14 basketball team. The thoughts and prayers of everyone in Cumann Cispheile Mhaigh Cuilinn are with the family, friends, and teammates of the Bowden family.

"We cannot possibly fathom their grief but we send them our love and support. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h'anam dílis."

Local councillor Richard Finn described the shock and sadness in the area after the incident.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families. It’s just a sad time,” he told Newstalk radio.

Cllr Finn said the stretch of road on which the collision took place was straight and had been improved in recent years, but it had previously been a blackspot before a €10 million refurbishment.

The Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Cllr Michael Loftus, expressed his disappointment that some members of the public were posting photographs of the crash site on social media on Tuesday night.

“It's so disappointing to hear something like that is going on,” he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland. “What's wrong with these people going on social media doing this? I think it's a disgrace. And you have to respect the families at this time.” – Additional reporting: Vivienne Clarke