The tragic death of a woman in a road crash in West Cork last Friday morning resonated in Fermoy, where the victim’s sister lives. 64-year-old Sheila McDonald from the village of Leap was on her way to work at a drapery shop in Bandon when her green Ford Fiesta collided with an articulated lorry. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her sister, Esther Caplice, who’s well known in Fermoy from the family business, the general provisions store Munster House on Patrick Street, got a call from her brother Dan, breaking the bad news. Just minutes before Esther had taken in the post and in it was a birthday card from her late sister for her daughter Edel’s 30th birthday. “She was fantastic, she never forgot a birthday, she remembered them all, all the family’s children and grandchildren,” Esther recalled with sadness this week.

SADLY MISSED

Sheila is survived by her mother Julia, brother Dan and sisters Rita and Esther. Esther said Sheila, who was single, was a shy and quite private person who was extremely kind hearted. Her family meant everything to her. “She lived with our mother, who is 94, she was devoted to her and took great care of her; she felt strongly that she wanted our mother to remain living and being cared for at home,” Esther explained.

It’s believed an oil spill on the road may have caused the crash, though weather conditions were also extremely bad at the time, with heavy rain and high winds. “We feel very sorry for the lorry driver, it wasn’t his fault, there was nothing he could have done and the poor man was badly shocked,” Esther said.

Sheila’s remains were removed to St. Mary’s Parish Church in Leap on Sunday night. Requiem Mass took place on Monday at 2.30pm with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. “It was a massive funeral, Sheila was very well thought of in the community,” Esther said.