This article is from page 1 of the 2006-09-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 1 JPG
IN A BLACK weekend on the county’s roads, an Ennis cyclist died tragically on Saturday night, while a rally driver is fighting for his life.
Rally driver Thomas White (37), from Ballagh, County Limerick, is understood to have lost control of his Toyota Starlet coming into a bend during stage five of the Clare Stages Rally, at Ayle, near Feakle, at around 2pm on Sunday.
The car smashed head on into a tree. Mr White’s co-driver escaped without injury.
Mr White, who is married with a 16-month-old child, was last night in a ‘critical’ condition in hospital in Limerick.
A spokesman for the rally organisers said they were “satisfied the safety plan was in place and working properly.”
A 60-year-old man became the eighth person to die on the county’s roads this year.
John Fitzgibbon, from Knockanoura, Tulla Road, Ennis, was walking across the road near St Joseph’s Hospital at Lifford Road with his bicycle, when he was struck by a taxi, at around 9pm on Saturday. He died instantly and the taxi driver did not sustain any injuries.
Mr Fitzgibbon, who was unmarried and lived with his sister Philomena, will be laid to rest today.
Originally from Ennis, he was one of a family of 10 and worked for many years as a farmer.
“He was an absolute gentleman. If you wanted help with anything, all you had to do was ask him. He was an honest decent fella,” said his neighbour and friend, Seán McMahon.
Only a few witnesses to the fatal accident have come forward and gardaí are seeking assistance.
“We need to know where exactly he was, what position on the road. Someone would have seen him prior to the accident,” said Inspector Kevin Moynihan.
“It was a sad, tragic weekend. A life has been lost. This brings us up to the same number of deaths as last year in the Clare Garda Division,” he added.