Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh has told how Christmas will be extremely sad this year, just after the fifth anniversary of her cousin’s death.
Teresa Molloy, 19, was one of four women killed in November 2009 in a collision between their car and a pickup truck.
And Maria said: “Four families lost significant members, each year the families all go to the anniversary mass – it’s a very sad time of the year.”
Winning: Maria being crowned Rose of Tralee
The four friends had been coming back from a Christmas shopping trip in Sligo, when the crash happened near Milltown, Co Galway.
She said “They drove into college in Galway but they couldn’t find a parking space. It was a horrible day, wind and rain, and they didn’t want to drive back into the docks to try and park at the house again.
“They had contemplated heading to Dublin from what we know, but for some reason they decided to go to Sligo – we don’t know why and we never will.”
Now Maria, 27 – who has three small ladybird tattoos on her neck in memory of her cousin – is hoping to stop others losing their lives on the road.
Family: Maria with parents and siblings Mikey, Noreen, Vincent & Eileen Walsh | VIPIRELAND.COM
She said: “187 people have passed away this year on our roads and I hope this number does not rise in the next few days before Christmas.
“I have realised that you need to survive and take all those bad memories and put it into a positive – such as educating people about road safety.
“I need to remind people how fragile life is when you’re on the road; how quickly life can be taken away and how important it is to be vigilant.”
