LAST UPDATE | 17 Nov 2019

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy has been killed after he was struck by a car in the early hours of this morning in Limerick.

Gardaí are investigating the incident which happened in the townland of Garraunboy, Adare.

They believe he had been walking home from a house party.

The boy, who was named locally as Nathan Lawlor Hough, from Rathkeale, Co Limerick, was in a collision with a vehicle around 3.45am, about 2km outside the village of Adare on the N21 Limerick to Tralee road.

It’s understood that Nathan had earlier attended a joint 18th birthday party in a local pub before attending a house party in the area with a group of friends.

An uncle of Nathan’s was part of a crew from Rathkeale Fire Service that responded to the scene of the fatal collision. 

When gardai arrived an ambulance crew was already on scene. However he was pronounced dead on the roadway.

A postmortem is due to take place on the boy’s body at 9.30am Monday morning, at University Hospital Limerick.

Superintendent Aileen Magner, Newcastle West garda station, passed on her sympathies to the boy’s family and said the investigation was ongoing.

 “We are still investigating the last movements of Nathan,” Magner said.

“I’d appeal for anybody who may have been passing at the time and who may have noticed anything unusual, or anybody who may have dash cam footage, their help would be appreciated,” she added.

The male driver of the car involved was not injured and was “helping gardai with their enquiries” into the fatal collision, TheJournal.ie understands.

Local Fianna Fáil councillor Bridie Collins said everyone in the village was “shocked” by the tragedy. 

“The sadness around is that this 16-year-old did not come home today. It’s the end of a very short life, and life is so short and so precious,” she added.

With reporting from Sean Murray