First fatality on Irish roads this year named locally
Sean Ryan
Tributes are being paid to a "gentleman" who became the first fatality on Irish roads in 2026.
Francis "Franco" Kelly from Longford town died following a collision involving two cars and a van in Edgeworthstown, Co Longford. The accident occurred at around 7pm on the first Saturday of the new year.
A second man, also in his 30s, was taken to hospital where he is being treated for injuries described as serious but non-life threatening.
Locals said he was "an absolute gentleman’’. In a post on social media, his partner Stephanie Nugent wrote "Love you always and forever, baby we will always be together, my boy forever".
Other family members also paid tribute. His cousin Veronica Reilly wrote on social media: "So unbelievably sad. Rest in peace Franko. God be with you cuz’’; while his partner's cousin Bianca Stokes wrote: "Really is terrible, only a young man. Rip Franko, God help my cousin Stephanie & the children through this and his family.’’
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses. Motorists with dash cam footage who were travelling in the area between 6.30pm and 7.15pm this evening are asked to contact Longford Gardaí on 043 3350570 and to make the footage available to investigating Gardaí.
Mr Kelly’s death is the first fatality on Irish roads in 2026. A second fatality occurred on the roads on the same day this year when a man died after the car he was driving collided with a tree in Co Kerry. The incident happened around 11.20pm on Saturday evening, and the man in his 30s was pronounced dead at the scene.
These fatalities come as Garda figures show that there were 179 fatal collisions across the year, resulting in 190 fatalities on public roads and in public places, which include car parks and non-public roads in Ireland in 2025. The figure is up from 175 in 2024.
Minister of State with responsibility for Road Safety Séan Canney said 2025 was an "incredibly difficult" year and that too many families have faced heartbreak.
He said this is a "stark reminder that road safety is not just a policy area or a set of statistics. This is about people's lives, about loved ones, about futures changed in an instant".
