It was shortly after 6am when the phone rang. It was my father. “Your nana has been in a car accident.” There followed a short pause. “She was killed.” It was June 2004 and my nana Crinnigan, my mother’s mother, was on holiday in Florida. I’ve two aunts living in Miami, Marie and Colette, and Nana was visiting them as she often did. They were driving back to Miami from Key Largo, where my aunt Marie had a holiday home. The car coming in the opposite direction was passing out a line of traffic when it hit them head on.

The days that followed were traumatic, compounded by the process of repatriation. For my mother, aunts and uncles it was the worst time of their lives, full of what ifs and disbelief. A split second in time changed everything.

She was seriously injured and was airlifted to hospital, where she remained for some weeks before making a full recovery

My young cousin was also in the car. She and her parents had travelled from Ireland with Nana for the holiday. She was seriously injured and was airlifted to hospital, where she remained for some weeks before making a full recovery. At the time, her condition added to the anguish of the funeral. The loss of a loved one is extraordinarily sad at any time. But from an accident, there’s an added layer of grief.

When I hear news of an accident, as obvious as it sounds, I always think of how the deceased got up that morning before their death; never thinking for a moment that their life was about to end so quickly. Think about it: the suddenness and resulting pain for family members and friends getting that phone call. There’s no sugar coating. There’s no preparation. There are no soothing words. “She was killed.”

When I see cars flying along the road, impatient drivers beeping at cyclists and other motorists, I often wonder did they ever have a near miss

It’s almost two years since I had an accident in Holland which could have ended my life when I tripped and fell crossing the street. I smashed my humerus bone in six places and dislocated my shoulder. Every day, I’m reminded of it with intermittent upper arm twinges. The freakiness of that fall and the luck my head didn’t hit the ground first still makes my blood run cold.

When I see cars flying along the road, impatient drivers beeping at cyclists and other motorists, I often wonder did they ever have a near miss, or lose a loved one to a sudden avoidable accident? For anybody who has lost a friend or relative to the suddenness of an accident, they will know what I mean.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a TikTok compilation doing the rounds glorifying dangerous farmyard pranks. It was roundly and rightly condemned. On the flip side, a group of transition year students from Nenagh CBS put together their own compelling video with the title “Open Your Eyes to Farm Safety”.

None of us are perfect. I have points for speeding and have taken silly chances on the roads

In the press release, it was interesting to note how the community from where the students hail had been “deeply and personally affected by farm accidents”. None of us are perfect. I have points for speeding and have taken silly chances on the roads. We can never check ourselves enough. And we should always remind ourselves that any one of us could be next.

Nana Crinnigan from Carbury in Co Kildare went to Miami in June 2004, as a surprise to celebrate the birthday she shared with my aunt – her youngest child, Colette, who lives in Miami. Their birthdays and the anniversary of Nana’s accident are next week.

Tough decisions

There is outrage in some quarters at the “same old same old” Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael forming a government. But has there really been any effort to form a “vote for change” alternative? The worst place to be for populist politicians over the next five years is in a government making hard post-COVID-19 decisions. Seems they know that only too well.