And with the death-toll now standing at seven, August has become one of the most lethal months in terms of road fatalities for many years.

This Monday, arrangements are being made to fly home the remains of the two Polish men who died as a result of an accident last Friday. The accident happened about 2.30am at Clough on the Rathkeale by-pass when the car the two men were travelling in collided with a truck parked on the hard-shoulder.

Tomasz Stelmaszczuk, the 30-year-old passenger, died at the scene while the driver, Adam Zajvac, 31, was placed in intensive care at the Regional Hospital in Limerick where he died on Saturday afternoon.

On Friday evening, a second accident in Ballingarry resulted in the death of 24-year-old construction worker, Mark Condon. Mr Condon, who lived at Ballykevin, Ballingarry, was driving a car which was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle. The accident happened shortly before 9pm. Mr Condon was pronounced dead at the scene. The occupants of the other vehicle, a Kilmeedy mother and her three children, were treated in hospital but were later released.

Meanwhile, a pregnant woman in her 30's in said to be in a "comfortable" condition in the Mid Western Regional Hospital after her lower body was crushed against a wall near the gates of Mungret College on Friday evening. It is understood that the baby was unharmed after the horrific accident, which occurred at around 5.45pm.

Three ambulances and a response car, three units of the fire brigade and gardai were despatched to the scene. It is believed the woman's Opel Astra broke down in Mungret and as she was waiting by the bonnet for help to arrive, her car was struck from behind, crushing her against a wall.