{"id":672914,"date":"2026-09-04T21:52:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T21:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/672914\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T21:52:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T21:52:20","slug":"boy-killed-in-mayo-rail-incident-named-locally-as-eoin-doyle-12-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/672914\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy killed in Mayo rail incident named locally as Eoin Doyle (12) \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Councillor Alma Gallagher said Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo<\/a>, had been sent into a state of shock by the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody thought in their wildest dreams that such a tragedy was going to unfold,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The 6.15pm Irish Rail<\/a> service from Heuston Station in Dublin to Westport, Co Mayo, had hit a car at a user-operated crossing at Kiltybo just before 9pm.<\/p>\n

The boy, named locally on Friday as Eoin Doyle, was fatally injured while travelling in a car with his father, Declan, who was taken to hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I heard, I felt utter shock and devastation,\u201d Gallagher added. <\/p>\n

Fr Stephen Farragher said there was a noticeable increase in the numbers attending Mass at St Patrick\u2019s Church in Ballyhaunis on Friday morning. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a sombre tone,\u201d he said. \u201cLikewise, when I walked down the street . . . At a time like this, [when] people feel helpless, very often they will gravitate towards the church whether they have faith or not, to light a candle. That\u2019s basically how people are coping.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"FrFr Stephen Farragher, parish priest in Ballyhaunis <\/p>\n

Eoin and Declan Doyle, from nearby Guane, were returning from Gaelic football training with St Jarlath\u2019s \u2013 an amalgamated team of underage players from Bekan and Ballyhaunis \u2013 when the incident occurred. <\/p>\n

Declan Doyle \u2013 a GAA trainer and member of the Mayo masters football team \u2013 had dropped another child home minutes before the collision. An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na said \u201call passengers on the train safely disembarked\u201d and onward transport was arranged.<\/p>\n

Eoin was in sixth class, with his twin sister Saoirse, in Cloonfad National School, just over the border in Co Roscommon. <\/p>\n

The siblings were among hundreds of Mayo GAA supporters photographed with the Sam Maguire Cup at Ballyhaunis GAA Club last Thursday week. The famous trophy was brought to the club by local All-Ireland winning footballers Jack Coyne and David McBrien.<\/p>\n

Farragher said the community had been on a high following Mayo\u2019s long-awaited All-Ireland senior football championship success on July 26th. However, news of the boy\u2019s death had sent the community into a profound state of sadness. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur hearts go out to them (the family). It\u2019s the kind of tragedy you don\u2019t expect and you hope will not be visited on your community, or any family,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The priest said a parishioner, who works as a firefighter, attended the scene and alerted him to the tragedy. He met Eoin\u2019s mother Elaine, a nurse, close to the scene. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know her so well. She gave me a big hug. She was very good when my own sister died two or three years ago in a tragic accident \u2013 she sent me a lovely message at the time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Gallagher, who is from Ballyhaunis and a friend of the Doyle family, recalled a double tragedy in September 2024 when two teenagers \u2013 aged 13 and 19 \u2013 were killed in a road collision in Cloonfad. <\/p>\n

She said that \u201ctragedy united Ballyhaunis and Cloonfad\u201d and once again bad news \u201cwas coming to our doorsteps\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re such a lovely family, involved in the community, involved with Ballyhaunis GAA Club and the farming community. It was such a devastation for us all.\u201d <\/p>\n

She added: \u201cWe nearly didn\u2019t comprehend it was true . . . My heart goes out to the family. The community of Ballyhaunis and Cloonfad will wrap our arms around them and comfort them in any way that we can.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"EmergencyEmergency services at the scene of a fatal collision between a train and a car in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, on Thursday, which caused the death of 12-year-old Eoin Doyle. Photograph: Leon Farrell\/\u00a9RollingNews.ie <\/p>\n

Ballyhaunis GAA club has paid tribute to Eoin, remembering him as \u201ca much loved member of our underage teams, a talented young footballer and, above all, a wonderful young boy who was a great friend and team-mate to so many within our club\u201d.<\/p>\n

The message continued: \u201cOur thoughts and prayers are with Eoin\u2019s parents, Declan and Elaine, his twin sister Saoirse, his stepbrother Conor, his grandparents Pat and Marguerite Doyle and Ger and Mary Corcoran, his uncles, aunts, cousins, relatives and friends, and all those who knew and loved him.\u201d<\/p>\n

A death notice posted on Rip.ie said Eoin\u2019s funeral Mass would take place at 12pm on Tuesday at St Patrick\u2019s Church, Cloonfad. <\/p>\n

Irish Rail offered its \u201cdeepest sympathies to the family of the young boy who tragically lost his life at a level crossing in Kiltybo near Ballyhaunis yesterday evening\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe collision happened at a level crossing at Kiltybo, Co Mayo <\/p>\n

Rail services were suspended between Westport and Athlone for much of Friday, resuming after 4pm. <\/p>\n

Irish Rail chief executive Mary Considine said a full investigation into the incident was under way and further details would become clear as the inquiry continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIncidents like these are extremely difficult for all involved. I would also like to convey my sincere appreciation to all those who responded with such professionalism and care at the scene, both the emergency services, An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na and our own staff,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Minister for Transport Darragh O\u2019Brien<\/a> described the incident as \u201cawful news\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, my thoughts and deepest sympathies go to that family, the loss of a young 12-year-old boy, it\u2019s an absolute tragedy,\u201d he said. \u201cA full investigation is taking place right now, both through An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na and our rail safety investigators as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier, a train collided with a tractor when it was attempting to cross the rail line at another user-operated crossing near Tullamore, Co Offaly<\/a>, at about 4pm. The train that struck the tractor was the 1.10pm Westport to Heuston station service.<\/p>\n

Emergency services attended and one person was taken to hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien said both incidents would be investigated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very good safety record here in Ireland, notwithstanding what has just happened yesterday,\u201d he said. \u201cAny incident, regardless how serious or how minor, is investigated in great detail.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Councillor Alma Gallagher said Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, had been sent into a state of shock by the tragic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,6,19,17,13419,11,12,15,16,2354,5,7,8],"class_list":["post-672914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-rail","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-mayo","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117214993614563430","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}