Tributes have been paid to the man who died in a single-vehicle crash in Co Cork in the early hours of Saturday morning as gardaí continue to question the driver.
The victim, named locally as Finbarr (Finny) Coleman, 40, from Innishannon, was described as a very pleasant and likeable man who had a fierce passion and knowledge of sport.
Local Independent Cork county councillor, Alan Coleman, who is not related to the deceased, said the sense of shock in Innishannon village is “palpable”.
“It is an awful tragedy. The village is just in a complete state of shock. This has affected everyone,” he said.
The deceased, who was single, lived with two of his four brothers in Innishannon.
He was a building contractor specialising in commercial and agricultural buildings, and was well-known in the area. One brother lives next door while another is making his way home from Australia.
An avid Valley Rovers GAA Club supporter, Finbarr Coleman regularly attended a range of sporting events, including local club matches, race meets, greyhound races, or bowling scores, and bigger sporting events too, including soccer matches overseas and most recently, the All Ireland hurling final last weekend.
Cllr Coleman said: “He was a very, very pleasant young man. He was unbelievably likeable. There was a nice innocence about him. Everybody would have known him, and this has just devastated the area.”
Willie Murphy, the Chairman of Ból Chumann na hÉireann (Irish Road Bowling Association), said Finbarr was involved in road bowling all his life.
“He was coming from a score (bowling match) near Kinsale,” he said.
“He was involved in road bowling all his life. He played football years ago but road bowling was his game now.
“It just shows that ultimately sport is only sport. It is terrible news to get.”
A road bowling youth county final which was due to take place in Newcestown on Saturday was cancelled in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Mr Coleman was one of six people – four men and two women – who were in the car which was being driven on the L3201 road from Kinsale towards Innishannon when the incident occurred in the townland of Ballynamona, close to Kinsale Golf Club, about 4kms northwest of Kinsale, about 1.30am.
The car apparently went out of control, struck a roadside sign, and then slammed into a tree stump.
Gardaí, fire and ambulance crews rushed to the scene but Mr Coleman was pronounced dead at the scene.
His body was removed to the mortuary at Cork University Hospital where a post-mortem examination will be carried out to establish the exact cause of death.
The others escaped with minor injuries, with just one taken to hospital.
The driver of the car, a man in his 30s, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of offences under the Road Traffic Act.
He is being detained at a garda station in Cork under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.
The road at Ballynamona was closed, with local diversions in place for most of the day, to facilitate a technical examination by forensic collision investigators.
Gardai said their investigations into the incident are ongoing and they appealed for any witnesses to this collision to come forward.
They specifically appealed to any road users who were travelling in the Ballynamona area between 1.15am and 1.45am, and who may have camera footage, including dash-cam footage, to come forward and contact Bandon Garda Station on 023 885 2200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
This latest road fatality brings to 109 the total number of people to die on Irish roads so far this year, up 14 compared to the same period last year.
