FOUR PEOPLE HAVE been hospitalised, three with serious injuries, following separate crashes in Co Clare.

Emergency services from three counties responded to incidents involving a total of five vehicles on the M18 at Dromoland at around 10.30pm last night.

The crashes, which occurred following a heavy downpour of hailstone, resulted in both sides of the motorway being closed.

Gardaí responded to the scene followed by a number of National Ambulance Service resources from Limerick and Clare as well as units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis and Shannon stations. 

The crashes happened across all four lanes of the motorway.

Additional support was requested from Galway Fire and Rescue Service who dispatched two units from Gort station.

Ambulance paramedics assessed a number of people at the scene before two people, a woman and a man, were taken to University Hospital Limerick for further treatment.

The collisions happened at the same time and location and across all four lanes of the motorway about 500m south of the Dromoland interchange.

Three vehicles lost control and crashed in the southbound lanes of the M18 while on the other side of the motorway, two more cars crashed.

It’s understood that a man who had gotten out of one of the cars was then struck by another car travelling in the same direction.

The man is believed to have suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The southbound lanes of the motorway were reopened about an hour after the collisions occurred.

The northbound lanes remained closed however for a further hour while emergency services and Traffic Infrastructure Ireland (TII) motorway crews cleared debris from the road and the vehicles were safely recovered.

Arrangements were also made to have the motorway gritted as temperatures dropped and further wintry showers were expected. 

Meanwhile, soon after the motorway incident had been cleared, emergency services were mobilised to a serious road traffic collision outskirts of Ennis.

Multiple Garda units responded to the scene along with two ambulances and a rapid response advanced paramedic unit.

Fire crews from Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis and Shannon stations also responded to the scene.

Two men were seriously injured in the two-car head-on collision which happened shortly before 1.00am on the main N68 Ennis to Kilrush road at Kilmorane. One of the vehicles was a taxi however the driver wasn’t carrying a fare at the time.

It’s understood the driver of the second car was also travelling alone. Fire crews had to use specialist cutting equipment to help release one of the drivers from the wreckage of his vehicle. Both men were taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

Gardaí at Ennis are appealing to anyone who witnessed either incident to contact them. Gardaí are also asking anyone with dashcam footage to make it available. Ennis Garda Station can be contacted on 065 6848100.