Bishop of Killaloe, Fintan Monahan, based in Ennis, Co Clare, issued a safety plea for the St Brigid’s bank holiday weekend.

He said there was “deep concern” at the surging number of deaths on Irish roads as he urged drivers to slow down, never to get behind the wheel intoxicated and to show respect for other road users.

A total of 190 people died on Irish roads last year – the highest since 2014. So far this year, 11 people have died on Irish roads, which is equal to the same period in 2025.

Dr Monahan said road tragedies have an enormous impact, not just on families, but also local communities and first responders.

“It is all about the safeguarding of life and the church is very passionate about that from all angles,” he said.

“The road safety record and the increasing number of people dying on roads both in the Republic and the North is a matter of deep concern to me.

Many of these tragedies are entirely preventable

“It should be a matter of alarm for everyone that Ireland has one of the fastest rising rates of road deaths in Europe.

“Many of these tragedies are entirely preventable if people respect the rules of the road and show vigilance for other road users.”

Dr Monahan said it was also worrying that so many of Ireland’s road deaths involve vulnerable road users such as cyclists, pedestrians, e-scooter users and motorcyclists.

“These are dark statistics indeed in terms of the road tragedies across Ireland,” he said.

“I think it is also important to mention the impact on first responders… gardaí, fire brigade and the medical people.

“But we [clerics] also tend to be called a lot of the time to the scenes of fatalities. We are very aware of the impact and the aftermath, including the funerals and burials.”

He urged people to consider what families who lose a loved one in a road tragedy go through – and the experience of the emergency services in attending crash scenes to deal with critical injuries and fatalities.

There is an urgent need for a collective effort to reduce these preventable deaths

“Families need to take responsibility for road safety – they need to discuss road safety and road tragedies at home. Every loss of life on our roads is a tragedy that impacts not just the individuals, families and local communities directly, but our entire society,” he said.

“The pain felt by loved ones of those lost on roads is particularly acute as this loss of human life is entirely preventable. There is an urgent need for a collective effort to reduce these preventable deaths.”

Dr Monahan marks bank holiday weekends – which are often times with high numbers of road fatalities – with a special blessing of roads and vehicles.

“It is something symbolic and prayerful that I do here in Ennis,” he said.