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Factual record. No finding of causation or responsibility is made here.

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Kilmoyler bridge inspections, recorded questions and the public record

This page brings together dated Council inspection records, adopted minutes and funding records concerning Killardry Bridge and Kilmoyler. It distinguishes what the documents record from what they do not establish about any named person’s knowledge, decision or responsibility.

The inspections quoted below are Council records. They establish what the inspection entries say; they do not, by themselves, establish which person received or acted on a report, what temporary controls were considered, or what later work was completed.

Tipperary — the highest road-death toll of any county in Ireland, 2023

The parapet at Killardry Bridge with its capping removed, the wall standing barely above the road, the River Aherlow beyond.
The capping removed — as recorded in the council’s engineering inspection of 21 January 2025 — the wall standing barely above the road, the river beyond. Photograph: family, 2026. Road-death ranking: Road Safety Authority, “Road Deaths in 2023 Increase by 19%” (1 January 2024), county table — Tipperary recorded 16, the most of any county.

Three 2025 Cahir–Cashel minutes record McGrath asking about Kilmoyler climate and flood funding: on 24 February, 26 May and 23 June. Alongside that record is her earlier 14 October 2024 seconding of Motion 2861, and the family’s question: what was done about the documented bridge-repair needs recorded on 21 January 2025?

The Council profile identifies her as a non-party councillor for the Tipperary–Cahir–Cashel Municipal District. That role description alone does not establish receipt of an inspection, authority over engineering work, a funding decision, knowledge, motive or causation. [1]

Earlier motion, later inspection

Before the January 2025 bridge inspection, McGrath seconded Motion 2861 at the full County Council meeting on 14 October 2024. Cllr Niall Dennehy proposed it. The motion asked that new default speed limits “not be universal across this County, but apply only in areas deemed necessary by this Council”. The adopted minutes record unanimous agreement. The same minutes separately describe a proposed national reduction on rural local roads from 80 km/h to 60 km/h. Motion 2861 did not itself enact that 80-to-60 change on this road; it concerned universal application and possible Council-determined exceptions. [2]

That date matters. It is a public policy record from October 2024, before the 21 January 2025 engineering inspection. It should not be presented as proof that McGrath had received, read or understood that later inspection. The held inspection for bridge reference TY-L3151-B-010 records “Significant Damage”, missing stonework, a five-metre collapsed length, downstream capping “partly removed” and “Is Signage Present? No.” The inspection record is evidence of what was recorded on 21 January; the reviewed material does not establish when, how or whether it was circulated to McGrath. [3]

Three 2025 Kilmoyler funding questions

On 24 February 2025, McGrath asked whether Climate and Flood Relief Funding could address the issues at Kilmoyler. The minute does not define “the issues” and does not name Killardry Bridge, a parapet, the January inspection, a road number or a project code. [4]

On 26 May, she asked for an update on the climate-change-funded works at Kilmoyler. The same page also records her request for school safety measures at Bunscoil na Cathrach, because parents had requested a school warden. In the same meeting, Cllr John O’Heney separately referred to the recent tragic incident and requested safety measures. The District Engineer said Kilmoyler works would commence in mid-June and that recommendations from the ongoing Garda investigation would be implemented. The minute does not say that McGrath made O’Heney’s request, that the climate works were bridge works, or that either request was a parapet-repair instruction. [5]

On 23 June, McGrath asked whether the Kilmoyler project under Climate Change Funding was going ahead “as this would alleviate flooding”. The District Engineer said it would begin in the next two weeks. That records a flood-alleviation purpose as expressed in the minutes; it does not establish the engineering scope or a safety outcome. [6]

Funding identity and road separation

The published 2025 allocation identifies T/CCAR/25/019 as “Kilmoyler”, on L-31011-0, with €113,240 under Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience. The same allocation document has a separate Bridge Rehabilitation category and named bridge projects. The adopted Service Delivery Plan repeats the L-31011-0 Kilmoyler line and separately lists bridge and safety lines. These records do not show that money was diverted from a bridge budget, that a bridge application was refused, or that the Kilmoyler scheme was an alternative to repairing TY-L3151-B-010. L-31011-0 and L-3151/TY-L3151-B-010 must remain separate unless a primary record joins them. [7]

Questions still open

The fair questions are specific: what information about the 21 January inspection was circulated, when and to whom? What record shows anyone asking for the Killardry parapet or wall to be repaired? What exactly did T/CCAR/25/019 cover, and which road or asset did it serve? How were climate, drainage, bridge and safety priorities set, and what was actually spent? The present record does not answer those questions. It also does not establish knowledge, motive, a funding trade-off or causation. [8]

Factual record. No finding of causation or responsibility is made here.

Source footnotes

1. Tipperary County Council councillor profile 2. Adopted County Council minutes, 14 October 2024, pp.12–15 3. Published extract of Council inspection, reference TY-L3151-B-010: inspection extract; specific observations. 4. Signed Cahir–Cashel MD minutes, 24 February 2025, p.4 5. Signed Cahir–Cashel MD minutes, 26 May 2025, p.6 6. Signed Cahir–Cashel MD minutes, 23 June 2025, pp.7–8 7. 2025 Regional and Local Roads Allocations, p.1; adopted Service Delivery Plan 2025, p.134 8. The three signed minutes in footnotes 4–6, read with the published inspection extract in footnote 3.

What the council said had been done — and what these photographs show

Asked what works it had carried out at this location, Tipperary County Council’s account, in its FOI internal review, was that its only drainage activity was “routine verge-inlet cleaning,” and that there were “no specific drainage works carried out on the bridge itself.”

These photographs were taken by the family on 1 May 2025 — a week after Bronagh died — while the road was closed for the forensic examination, and are GPS-tagged at the bridge. They show a freshly-excavated verge and freshly disturbed ground at the site.

The approach with a freshly-dug soil bank along the verge at Killardry Bridge, 1 May 2025, GPS-tagged
The approach — freshly-dug ground along the verge.Family, 1 May 2025 · GPS-tagged at the bridge.
A freshly-excavated verge beside the road at Killardry Bridge, 1 May 2025, GPS-tagged
A freshly-excavated verge beside the road.Family, 1 May 2025 · GPS-tagged.
Enlarged detail of freshly disturbed soil and loose stones along the verge edge, 1 May 2025
Enlarged — freshly disturbed soil and loose stones along the verge, at the road’s edge.Family, 1 May 2025 · GPS-tagged.

The council’s own works records, disclosed in July 2026, list a road reconstruction on this section in 2018 and a resealing completed in 2025. Google Street View imagery of the same spot, dated October 2011 and July 2024, shows the crossing across that period.

The Killardry Bridge approach on the L3101, Google Street View October 2011
The crossing in October 2011.Google Street View imagery, October 2011.
The same approach to Killardry Bridge, Google Street View July 2024
The same view in July 2024.Google Street View imagery, July 2024.

Family photographs, 1 May 2025, EXIF-dated and GPS-located at the bridge. Before/after imagery: Google Street View, dated October 2011 and July 2024. Council account: FOI Internal Review Decision, 18 February 2026 — see the decision; council works records: Road Management works table, FOI 10526 (2018 reconstruction; 2025 resealing). The family’s position on these works is a matter the family is pursuing through their solicitors; no council drainage survey of the site is held. All the photographs of the works, and the 2011–2024 comparison →

The council’s account, against the record

The council said there were no works here. Its own records — and these photographs — do not agree.

The approach to the bridge in dated records of the same place: Google Street View from July 2024, and the family’s own photographs from 1 May 2025 (the road closed for the Garda forensic examination). Three matched views — each Google capture beside the family’s photograph of the same spot.

The junction

The approach junction to Killardry Bridge on the L3101, verges overgrown, Google Street View July 2024
July 2024 — the junction verges overgrown, no trench cut.Google Street View imagery, July 2024 (52.417080, −7.975540).
The same approach junction on 1 May 2025, the left verge cut back to bare soil and ground disturbed along the edge
1 May 2025 — the verge cut back to bare soil, the bank disturbed, with vegetation already regrown across the cut ground.Family photograph, 1 May 2025 · GPS-tagged, about 60 m from the bridge. Number plate obscured.

The approach lane

The approach lane to Killardry Bridge on the L3101, hemmed in by growth on both sides, no cut verge, Google Street View July 2024
July 2024 — the lane hemmed in by growth on both sides: no cut verge, no clay bank.Google Street View imagery, July 2024 (52.417080, −7.975540).
The same approach lane on 1 May 2025, a clay bank in place along the left, the growth cut back and the road resurfaced
1 May 2025 — the same lane: a clay bank in place along the left, the growth cut back, the road resurfaced.Family photograph, 1 May 2025 · GPS-tagged, about 60 m from the bridge.

The turn just before the bridge

The turn on the L3101 just before Killardry Bridge, the verge heavily overgrown, Google Street View July 2024
July 2024 — the turn just before the bridge, the verge heavily overgrown: no clay bank.Google Street View imagery, July 2024 (52.417080, −7.975540).
The same turn on 1 May 2025, a cut clay bank along the right edge with clay and stones at the road edge, the bridge parapet beyond
1 May 2025 — the same turn: a cut clay bank along the right edge, clay and stones at the road’s edge, the bridge beyond.Family photograph, 1 May 2025 · GPS-tagged, about 60 m from the bridge. Number plate obscured.

What the council was asked — and exactly what it said. Under Freedom of Information, the family’s solicitors asked Tipperary County Council for, among other records, “all documents arising out of drainage works carried out or commissioned at or on Killardry Bridge and/or the L3101 approach road to Killardry Bridge, Kilmoyler … from 2000 to date” (FOI request 106/25; internal review FOI 174/25, Roads Ref FOI 02/26).

In its Internal Review Decision of 18 February 2026, the council answered, in its own words: “The only drainage works that were carried out on the L-3151 consisted of inlets in the roadside verges being cleaned out. … There were no specific drainage works carried out on the bridge itself.” It described the 2025 roadworks on the L-3151 as “to the northwest of the bridge location.”

Request: FOI 106/25 (decision 7 October 2025 — three documents disclosed, no works, drainage or maintenance records). Answer quoted verbatim: Decision on Internal Review, Kieran Malone, Senior Engineer, Roads & Transportation, Tipperary County Council, 18 February 2026 (FOI 174/25). Held on file — see the decision.

The family’s position is that the dated imagery and their dated, GPS-located photographs show works on the approach to the bridge that this account does not reflect. In the family’s reading of the 1 May 2025 photographs, the vegetation already regrown across the disturbed bank is some two to three weeks old — which would place the ground disturbance before 24 April 2025, the night Bronagh died. The dating and significance of these works are matters the family has put on the record and is pursuing through their solicitors.

The questions the family is asking

The council was asked, under Freedom of Information, for the records of works on this road. It answered that there were “no specific drainage works carried out on the bridge itself” and that the 2025 roadworks were “to the northwest of the bridge location.” Yet the council’s own works table records a road reconstruction (2018) and a reseal (2025) on this section; Google’s own dated imagery shows the approach change from overgrown to cut back; and the family’s dated, GPS-located photographs show a fresh clay bank and disturbed ground on the approach.

The family cannot reconcile the council’s account with these records, and is left asking:

  • Why does the council’s Freedom of Information answer not match its own works records and the dated photographs of this road?
  • What works were carried out on this road and its approach — and when?
  • Why do those works not appear in the file the family was given?

These are the family’s honestly-held questions, based on the documents and dated images set out above. They are put to Tipperary County Council, and the family is pursuing them through their solicitors.

Family photographs, 1 May 2025 (EXIF-dated 1 May 2025), GPS about 60 m from the bridge; owner’s vehicle, number plate obscured. The two-to-three-week estimate is the family’s reading of the regrowth, offered as their honestly-held opinion and subject to expert confirmation. Google Street View imagery of the L3101 approach, July 2024. Council quotation verbatim: Internal Review Decision, 18 February 2026 — see the decision.

The family's position

For Bronagh's family, the dated inspection, minutes and funding records raise questions about what was recorded, what was asked, what was considered, and what work followed. The family position is presented as a position, not as a finding about any named person's knowledge, motive, responsibility or causation.

This page quotes reports and public statements from Tipperary County Council's own records, reproduced word-for-word and sourced to each. It makes no allegation of wrongdoing against any named individual; views expressed as the family's are their honestly-held opinion, based on that record and on a matter of public safety. These are matters for the proper legal process; nothing here determines legal liability.

This record on the other sites: bronaghenglish.com · killardrybridge.com · tipperaryroads.com · tipperaryroaddeaths.com

Video explainers — silent, captioned, with transcripts

Last updated 2026-10-11. This is a living record — findings are added as dated entries and prior versions remain visible.

Road Death Tipp Road Death Tipp Tipperary road deaths — remembrance and records Remembrance and the official records, county by year. Working annual total. Not a count of points on the map. Open the map Partial map coverage. No ages shown. Explore → Partial map coverage. No ages shown.
Cahir–Cashel road statistics Cahir–Cashel Deadly place to drive ↗ × Cahir–Cashel road statistics Road statistics · sourced comparison Cahir–Cashel: 3.03× the national road-death rate 1 January 2018–31 December 2023 (six complete calendar years) . In the full Tipperary–Cahir–Cashel Municipal District, including its rural areas, the derived annualized rate was 8.61 people killed per 100,000 residents , compared with 2.84 nationally . This is an area comparison relative to population, not a personal likelihood. This page uses the full municipal district, not the populations of Cahir and Cashel towns. The linked road-deaths map and record has broader coverage and a different purpose. The headline figures 23 people killed in 21 fatal-collision records in the district 8.61 annualized people killed per 100,000 residents 3.03× the State rate on this population basis 36.5% of County Tipperary’s deaths and 26.5% of its population; the district rate was 37.6% above the county rate. District results The district’s fixed Census 2022 population is 44,532 . The 23 people comprised 11 drivers, 5 passengers, 5 pedestrians, 2 motorcyclists . They were not all drivers. Annual district deaths were 6, 4, 1, 3, 3, 6 from 2018 to 2023. Scroll horizontally to read this table. Five Tipperary municipal districts District 2022 population Fatal-collision records People killed People killed per 100,000 per year Clonmel 25,003 10 13 8.67 Tipperary–Cahir–Cashel 44,532 21 23 8.61 Carrick-on-Suir 20,191 7 7 5.78 Nenagh 40,879 11 12 4.89 Thurles 37,290 8 8 3.58 Scroll horizontally to read this table. Annual people killed Year Tipperary–Cahir–Cashel County Tipperary State 2018 6 10 134 2019 4 13 140 2020 1 7 141 2021 3 10 132 2022 3 7 152 2023 6 16 179 County comparison National baseline: the Republic of Ireland recorded 878 people killed across a fixed Census 2022 population of 5,149,139 , an annualized rate of 2.84 per 100,000 residents over these six years. Tipperary recorded 63 people killed , a rate of 6.25 , ranking #2 of 26 counties behind Monaghan (6.38). Tipperary’s rate was 2.20 times the national rate. Scroll horizontally to read this table. All 26 counties, ranked by annualized rate; the CSO county aggregate does not supply mapped source-record counts Rank County 2022 population People killed Fatal-collision records People killed per 100,000 per year 1 Monaghan 65,288 25 — 6.38 2 Tipperary 167,895 63 — 6.25 3 Donegal 167,084 53 — 5.29 4 Roscommon 70,259 22 — 5.22 5 Louth 139,703 41 — 4.89 6 Cavan 81,704 23 — 4.69 7 Mayo 137,970 38 — 4.59 8 Offaly 83,150 22 — 4.41 9 Kerry 156,458 41 — 4.37 10 Kilkenny 104,160 27 — 4.32 11 Leitrim 35,199 9 — 4.26 12 Longford 46,751 11 — 3.92 13 Westmeath 96,221 22 — 3.81 14 Clare 127,938 29 — 3.78 15 Meath 220,826 49 — 3.70 16 Sligo 70,198 15 — 3.56 17 Limerick 209,536 44 — 3.50 18 Wexford 163,919 34 — 3.46 19 Galway 277,737 49 — 2.94 20 Carlow 61,968 9 — 2.42 21 Cork 584,156 83 — 2.37 22 Laois 91,877 12 — 2.18 23 Waterford 127,363 15 — 1.96 24 Wicklow 155,851 18 — 1.92 25 Kildare 247,774 25 — 1.68 26 Dublin 1,458,154 99 — 1.13 A higher district comparator Boyle Municipal District, County Roscommon, recorded 15 people killed in 14 source records from a population of 24,421: 10.24 per 100,000 , about 19% higher than Tipperary–Cahir–Cashel. This is not a claim that Boyle is Ireland’s worst district; 11 districts were screened in this targeted comparison. Clonmel’s 8.67 rate is marginally higher than Cahir–Cashel’s 8.61; the largest raw count is not the highest district rate. Public council minutes: 2024–2026 These later public records are separate from the 2018–2023 statistical comparison. They record requests, responses and planned work—not findings of causation or proof that work was completed. 2025-05-26 James Swords: recorded response to a safety request The minutes record Councillor John O’Heney asking for safety measures following a recent tragic incident. James Swords is listed as District Engineer present; the response is attributed to that role. Limit: The minute does not name the bridge or specify a parapet repair. It does not say that Gardaí were to design or direct a bridge repair. there is an ongoing Gardai investigation into the incident and if there are any recommendations from the report it will be implemented. Excerpt from the minutes, not a verbatim speech transcript. Official minutes — attendance and District Engineer, PDF p. 1 — Officials Present; James Swords, District Engineer Official minutes — District Engineer’s report, PDF p. 5 — Item 3.4, District Engineer’s Report Official minutes — recorded response, PDF p. 6 — Item 3.4, District Engineer’s Report 2024-10-14 Máirín McGrath seconded the default-speed-limit motion Motion 2861 was proposed by Cllr Niall Dennehy and seconded by Cllr Máirín McGrath, a Cahir LEA member. The full County Council recorded unanimous agreement. The motion sought selective application of the new default limits, rather than universal application across the county. Limit: This was not a motion introducing a blanket 80-to-60 reduction. The December clarification below records the legal-advice referral. Official October minutes — Motion 2861, PDF p. 12 — Item 8.2, Notice of Motion Ref. 2861 Official October minutes — unanimous outcome, PDF p. 15 — Notice of Motion Ref. 2861 outcome Official Council AGM minutes — elected-area roles, PDF p. 2 — Item 2.1, elected members by electoral area 2024-12-09 Council clarification and legal advice The minutes record Chief Executive Sinéad Carr acknowledging support for Motion 2861, while explaining that legal advice was being sought on whether a plenary motion could supersede national legislation. The October minutes were to be amended to reflect that clarification. Limit: This does not establish a road-specific exception or a suspension of national rules. Official December minutes — clarification, PDF p. 2 — Item 3.1, Matters Arising on October minutes 2025-01-13 80-to-60 implementation and weather-delayed signs The minutes record 7 February 2025 as the commencement date for the rural-local-road default reduction from 80 to 60 km/h. They also record severe weather delaying sign-installation work and distinguish a later, wider Phase 2 review. Limit: This is a dated implementation note, not proof of the limit or weather at any individual crash site. Official January minutes — Speed Limit Review, PDF p. 11 — Item 7.1, Roads, Transportation, Health & Safety 2026-05-25 477 district bridges; 14 applications; three funded The District Engineer reported €1 million in county bridge funding, 477 bridges in the district, applications for 14 bridges requiring work and funding for three. Limit: The minute does not establish whether Killardry was among the 14; funding is not proof of completed work. Official May 2026 minutes — bridge funding, PDF p. 6 — Item 3.6, District Engineer’s Report 2026-05-25 Temporary measures considered at Rehill Bridge Following Cllr Máirín McGrath’s request for urgent rehabilitation, the District Engineer reported that Rehill tender documents were nearly complete and temporary measures were being considered to reopen the bridge, with completion hoped for by the end of that week. Limit: This records a plan and expectation, not verified completion. Official May 2026 minutes — Rehill Bridge, PDF p. 6 — Item 3.6, District Engineer’s Report The earlier bridge inspection The family’s published summary of Council inspection record TY-L3151-B-010 reports “Significant Damage” on 21 January 2025 and records downstream capping as “partly removed”. That inspection predates both the 24 April 2025 collision and the 26 May 2025 meeting response. Limit: This is a summary of a Council record held on file, not the original report online. The records checked do not establish whether or when James Swords personally received or read the inspection report. Published family summary of the Council inspection record When was the inspection circulated to the district engineering team, and what action was recorded? Further accountability research Read the full sourced record on the primary statistics page . Representatives Engineering Payments Road budgets Crash coverage Weather Surfaces and works Exposure comparisons Method and limits People killed ÷ fixed 2022 population ÷ 6 years × 100,000. Populations are fixed Census 2022 references. Counts concern collision locations, not resident addresses; the result is not a rate per journey or vehicle-kilometre. Current 2024 reference boundaries are applied retrospectively. The series is provisional and subject to revision. The figures do not establish why crashes happened or measure road-maintenance spending. Return home · Open the broader road-deaths map and record Sources RSA SourceData — Map of Collisions source data — Fatal-collision source records, 2018–2023; mapped locations assigned to current reference districts. CSO ROA15 — Persons Killed and Injured — State and county people-killed totals, 2018–2023; provisional/revisable series. CSO ROA12 — All road users — Independent national cross-check of people-killed totals, 2018–2023. CSO Census 2022 Table 8.1 background notes — State and county 2022 population background. CSO FY108 — official statutory LEA population CSV — 2022 population basis and statutory LEA/district mapping. Tipperary County Council Adopted Budget 2024, Table 7 (PDF) — Five municipal-district populations labelled as based on Census 2022; physical page 20. Tailte Éireann 2024 statutory boundary dataset service — Checked 2024 Tailte Éireann statutory municipal-district boundary dataset service; current reference boundaries applied retrospectively. Irish Statute Book S.I. 631/2018 — Optional Boyle municipal-district/LEA mapping context. Download the five-district CSV · Download the 26-county CSV · Download the public JSON snapshot Factual record. No finding of causation or responsibility is made here.

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Road Death Tipp95 people killed on the roads of County Tipperary, 2016 to 2025 inclusive. Working annual total, not a count of points on the map. Partial map coverage. No ages shown. Cahir–Cashel road statisticsCahir–Cashel: 3.03× the national road-death rate. Open the sourced district statistics and council notes.