A North Clare resident who lost her husband to a road traffic collision claims she’s never seen policing on one of the region’s busiest national secondary roads.
It comes as the chairperson of the Policing and Community Safety Authority has described as “shocking” a new report showing a substantial number of gardaí within Roads Policing aren’t doing their jobs and have no interest in doing them.
The findings of the Crowe Report, which have come to light due to the testimony of a whistleblower, have been deemed “sobering” by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris who’s condemned the actions of the gardaí in question as “brazen and contemptuous”.
He’s pledged to publish the contents of the report which reveal that gardaí who weren’t carrying out their duties didn’t care they were being monitored, while their managers weren’t dealing with the issue.
It comes in a year when two people in Clare have lost their lives on the roads, following on from four last year.
Ennis Fianna Fáil Councillor Clare Colleran-Molloy, whose brother was killed in a road traffic collision, believes the gardaí not doing their jobs must be held to account.
Gardaí have responded to a total of 592 crashes in Clare in 2025 to date.
Ballyvaughan resident Helga Himmelsbach’s husband Jeremiah O’Connor was killed in 2023 when a car driven by a French tourist collided with his motorbike on the N67.
From Saturday September 7th, Helga is spearheading an event called ‘Make a Move for Road Safety’ involving a 120-kilometre walk from Kilrush to Kinvara to raise awareness of road safety.
She claims the N67 is one of the most treacharous roads in the county but isn’t being treated as such.
You can listen to the full interview below.
