TRIBUTES have been paid to a young mother who died following a car accident in County Limerick on Monday as she was returning home from a Halloween event with her partner and two children who were injured in the crash.
Helen Moynihan (32) from Newcastle West was the driver of a car that was involved in a two car collision on the N21, south of Rathkeale, at a location known locally as The Pike shortly after 4.15pm.
She was taken to University Hospital Limerick where she was pronounced dead a short time after admission.
Her partner, named locally as Seanie King; her seven-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter as well as the driver of the other car, a man in his twenties, were also removed to hospital where their conditions were described as non-life threatening.
Ms Moynihan, who worked as an office administrator, was returning from a Halloween event at a cinema in Limerick City to go ‘trick-or-treating’ with her children in the area around her family home.
Posting condolences on social media yesterday, a friend described the accident as an horrendous tragedy, stating that Ms Moynihan had a heart of gold and would be sorely missed.
Local Fianna Fáil councillor and cathaoirleach of the Municipal District of Newcastle West, Michael Collins said Ms Moynihan’s family is well known and respected in the area and he knew her as well, having previously worked with his son.
“She was a real nice lady, very popular,” he told the Irish Independent.
“It’s a very sad and tragic event. It’s only when it comes close to home that you realise how fragile life can be.”
