Family and friends of Patricia ‘Tricia’ Barry are delighted to report that she’s recovering well in Cork University Hospital after an operation for head injuries she sustained in a road traffic accident here earlier this month.
Ms. Barry was one of five young people from Castleisland who were travelling in a car which struck a solid concrete pillar at around 10pm on the Sunday night of February 15th.
All the occupants suffered varying degrees of injuries but the focus has been on Tricia Barry since as she suffered head injuries in the collision.
The accident happened on a narrow stretch of the by-road at Portduff a little more that a mile outside Castleisland and weather conditions at the time were dominated by a heavy driving mist.
The accident happened as the road narrows on the approach to the bridge at Portduff and the impact demolished a solid concrete four foot by two foot by six foot high pillar and the wall attached to it.
The occupants were all taken to hospital but Tricia was later moved to Cork.
Many locals and relatives expressed amazement and relief that the occupants of the car survived such a violent impact.
A friend of the family said today that they were delighted with the progress Tricia was making in Cork University Hospital.
“She has had her operation and she’s sitting up and talking a little bit. She’s coming along nicely now thank God and we’re hoping she’ll be moved back down to ‘The General’ in Tralee over the next couple of days.
We’d like to thank all the people wishing her well and asking for her. They were awful lucky. As bad and all as it is – it could have been away worse. There’s no doubt but there was someone praying for them that they all came out of that car,” she said.
