Parents' Nightmare Realised: Child Struck By Car Outside Maynooth School Amid Years Of Safety Warnings

Community members, led by parent Annie Byrne, are calling for immediate intervention, including the appointment of a lollipop person, widened footpaths, and enhanced traffic-calming measures.

A young girl from Maynooth Educate Together National School was struck by a car on the Celbridge Road after finishing school at approximately 2:20pm yesterday. 

The child sustained shock and soft tissue injuries but avoided serious harm. 

Emergency services, including Gardaí and ambulance crews, attended the scene.

The incident has reignited long-standing concerns over road safety at the site, which is shared by Maynooth Educate Together NS and Gaelscoil Uí Fhiaich.

Parents and local councillors have repeatedly warned of unsafe infrastructure, lack of a school crossing guard, and poor visibility.

Community members, led by parent Annie Byrne, are calling for immediate intervention, including the appointment of a lollipop person, widened footpaths, and enhanced traffic-calming measures. 

There has also been calls to reconsider the location of the Dublin Bus Stop which, according to parents, currently reduces visibility outside Maynooth ETNS.

"The children of Maynooth deserve the same level of safety provided to students at other schools. Every day we delay action is another day we risk a tragedy that could have been prevented," Ms Byrne said.

Graham O' Sullivan, another local parent, urged the council, politicians and local representatives to act on the issue.
 
"Please act before a far more serious incident happens and some family are left bereaved," he said.

Local councillors have confirmed that they are pushing Kildare County Council and national authorities to act urgently, citing years of inaction and the need to prevent further accidents.

Kildare North Fianna Fail TD Naoise Ó Cearúil described the situation as "unacceptable". 

He said he has contacted senior officials in Kildare County Council to request immediate safety measures be put in place, separate from the long-delayed upgrade plans. 

"We cannot allow bureaucracy to get in the way of protecting children," he said.

Kfm recently highlighted how parents of hundreds of primary schoolchildren risk injury or death daily as they travel on the "dangerous" R405 Celbridge Road in Maynooth.

With years of delayed safety upgrades, parents said without immediate intervention, the situation could lead to tragedy.

In recent months, parents and children gathered outside Gaelscoil Uí Fhiaich and Maynooth Educate Together National School in a public protest, urging Kildare County Council to address their concerns.

For more than a decade, parents have called for safety improvements on the R405, including upgrading its narrow, uneven footpaths and adding cycle tracks.

Parents said despite repeated promises, the road’s infrastructure has worsened, while traffic volumes have increased significantly.

Over 870 children aged four to thirteen depend on the road to access their schools.

"I’m terrified every morning," said one parent. "We’ve been asking for upgrades for 10 years. How many near misses does it take before action is taken?"

Other parents shared similar stories.

“My child’s school bag was hit by the wing mirror of a passing car. She was terrified and is very nervous using this road now," one parent said.
   
Another parent said: “We would prefer to walk or cycle as it is healthier, but I’m too afraid that one of our children will be injured or worse, so we drive.”

Parents of children attending the schools were surveyed about their thoughts and experiences of the R405.

80 per cent of parents want their children to walk, cycle, or scoot to school but feel it is unsafe to do so.

59 per cent of students live within 2 km of their schools, making active travel feasible with proper infrastructure.

49% of families rely on cars to avoid danger, with claims that this figure would drop to 2 per cent if safer pathways existed.