M1 to close around Dundalk from midnight for repair work

Part of the M1 motorway will be closed in the early hours of tomorrow morning to facilitate emergency repair work at Junction 17 Castleblayney by ESB Networks.

To facilitate the work, it will be necessary to close the motorway northbound and southbound between Junction 16 Dundalk North and Junction 18 Dundalk South/Carlingford between midnight and 5am.

Traffic will be diverted off the N1 southbound at Junction 18 (Dundalk North) and onto the N52 (Dundalk Inner Relief Road). Traffic will re-join the M1 southbound at Junction 16 (Dundalk South). The northbound diversion will use the same route in reverse. 
The traffic management will be carried out by North-Link.

Man seriously injured in Dundalk accident

The Xerox junction in Dundalk

A 40-year-old man has been seriously injured in an overnight road accident in Dundalk.

It happened on the N52 link road between Xerox and the M1 close to the Crumlin roundabout at 1.45am this morning.

It is understood the man, who was the driver of the only vehicle involved in the accident, crashed into a ditch.

He had to be freed from the car by the fire service.

He was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda where he is in a serious condition.

The link road between the Xerox and the M1 reopened at lunchtime after Gardaí carried out a technical examination of the scene.

Local man killed in three-car crash on M1

A man, reported to be from Co Louth, was killed in a three car crash on the M1 motorway last night.

The collision happened on a northbound stretch of the road between Junction 15 Castlebellingham and Junction 16 Dundalk at around 10.30pm on Sunday night.

The dead man, in his 40s, was one of the drivers involved.

Three other people involved in the crash were taken to hospital, including a woman in her 40s who was brought to Our Lady Of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda with serious injuries

The driver and passenger in the third car were also taken to hospital but their injuries are not thought to be serious.

The road is closed this morning for a forensic examination by Garda investigators.

Traffic is being diverted towards Castlebellingham and the old Belfast Road.

Woman’s body discovered in Hackballscross

A woman’s body has been discovered in a house in Hackballscross, just north of Dundalk.

The woman had suffered serious head injuries before being discovered by a family member at her home in the Rathmore area this afternoon.

The house has been sealed off by Gardaí with investigations underway as to the cause of her death.

Gardaí are said to be investigating the circumstances leading up to the woman’s death and whether it is connected to a fatal crash on the M1 outside Ardee earlier this afternoon.

A man in his 60s died when his car collided with a lorry and a car. The car was registered to the house in which the woman was found prompting speculation that it could be a murder-suicide case.

It is understood the deceased was driving the wrong way up the northbound lane of the motorway when the collision occurred between J14 Ardee and J15 Castlebellingham.

Three other people were brought to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda with non-life threatening injuries and the motorway is expected to remain closed between J14 Ardee and J16 Dundalk South for much of tonight.

Part of M1 motorway closed due to fatal accident

A view of the tailback on the motorway following the accident this afternoon

There has been a fatal accident on the northbound lane of the M1 motorway this afternoon between J14 Ardee and J15 Castlebellingham.

The road has been closed as a result of the incident and Gardaí are on the scene. A man was pronounced dead at the scene with three others hospitalised with non-life threatening injuries.

It’s understood the car he was driving collided with a lorry and another car on the northbound carriageway.

Northbound traffic will be diverted off M1 onto the R132 (old N1) between Junction 14 & Junction 16 due to the incident.

Gardaí are asking motorists to avoid the area if at all possible.

Lowfuelcard.ie to sponsor Irish PGA Championship in Dundalk

Brian Owens of Dundalk Golf Club, Michael McCumiskey, Secretary of the PGA in Ireland and Joe Barrett of Applegreen

LowFuelcard.ie will sponsor the Irish PGA Championship at Dundalk Golf Club from October 1st to 4th.

The card is a new product offer by forecourt retailer Applegreen plc and while no figures have been released for what is initially a one-year deal with the Irish Region of the PGA, it is believed to be €30,000 with an option for further years.

The prize fund for last year’s event at Adare Manor was €29,450 and it is expected to remain at that level this year.

PGA in Ireland Secretary, Michael McCumiskey said: “This new sponsorship agreement is an important development for this historic championship. The PGA in Ireland looks forward to building a strong partnership with Applegreen over the coming years.”

Applegreen plc is the number one motorway service area operator by number of sites in the Republic of Ireland and has a growing presence in the UK.

The Group had 152 sites as of late December 2014 with 96 in the Republic of Ireland, 54 in the UK and four on Long Island in the USA.

Joe Barrett, Chief Operations Officer for Applegreen plc said; “We are delighted to be involved with this national event which engages with businesses in the locality.

“Applegreen have recently opened a motorway services area (MSA) at Templepatrick on the M2 outside Belfast and are currently building another MSA on the M1 south bound just outside Lisburn.

“Applegreen already has a significant business presence on the M1 at Castlebellingham, Lusk, Balbriggan and Gormanston.”

Dundalk Golf Cub has hosted the Irish PGA Championship on two previous occasions. In 1953, Harry Bradshaw collected his eighth title with a four round total of 272 and in 1969, Jimmy Martin won with a score of 269.

Redesigned by Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas in 1980, extensive improvements have been carried out to the 6,826-yard course over the last 18 months.

A number of new bunkers have been added but the main focus has been on redesigning and improving the drainage of the existing green side traps. A tree-thinning process has also opened up the sixth and 15th greens to the elements.

Last year’s Irish PGA Championship at Adare Manor Golf Club was won by Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney, who birdied the 18th to edge out Derry’s Michael McGeady and pocketed a cheque for €3,500.

Fire affecting visibility on M1

A fire near just off the southbound lane of the M1 motorway is said to be affecting visibility at present between Junction 17 Dundalk and Junction 16 Dundalk South.

Motorists have been advised to take cae when travelling along the route.

A section of the Dundalk to Carlingford Road (R132) is also closed as emergency services deal with a crash. The crash took place near to the Ballymascanlon House Hotel. Diversions are in place.

Teenager dies in Belfast crash in van stolen from outside Dundalk

A teenage boy has died after a van which had been stolen just outside Dundalk crashed in Belfast last night.

The 17-year-old was killed after the silver Transit van, which had been stolen from alongside the N1 near Carrickarnon earlier that evening, collided with a barrier on the M1 between the Blaris and Saintfield junctions at around 10.50pm.

The teenager has yet to be named although the PSNI have seized a red Ford Mondeo from an address in Lagmore, west Belfast. It is believed it was travelling with the van at the time of the accident.

The PSNI have appealed for anyone who saw either vehicle before the crash to contact them.

Gardaí and army seal off area just outside Dundalk

Roskeagh is located close to Mountpleasant and the Carrickasticken Road

An on-going Garda-led operation is in progress near Dundalk.

It is taking place at Roskeagh close to the M1 flyover – just off the Old Armagh road – about two miles from Dundalk.

It is understood the Garda regional support unit are involved in the operation.

The Army bomb disposal unit are also at the scene.

A small area has been sealed off.

35,000 litres of fuel laundering waste dumped close to border

A trailer with an estimated 35,000 litres of oil laundering waste has been found abandoned close to the border.

The trailer carrying the toxic sludge was discovered this morning on the N1 dual carriageway at Junction 20 Jonesborough/Carrickarnon, close to the Carrickdale Hotel.

Louth County Council’s contractor hopes to have the trailer and its contents removed by this afternoon.

This is one of a number of similar discoveries at this location in recent months with those responsible for fuel laundering dumping the waste at expense to the taxpayer.