Mum dies in horror crash after bringing kids to visit her gran on Mother's Day (2025)

Susan O'Sullivan was declared dead at the scene following an awful head-on collision - she was taking her children to visit her mother on Mother's Day when the incident occurred

A loving mum tragically died in an awful car crash on Mother’s Day while visiting her own mum. Susan O’Sullivan died in a head-on collision in Mallow, in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, at around 3:30pm yesterday, leaving her family “distraught”.

She was declared dead at the scene while her two young children whom she had taken to visit her mother were rushed to hospital. Their injuries were described as not being life-threatening.

Susan married her long-term partner Gavin in 2018 and the pair are understood to have a young boy and girl aged eight and five. A woman named locally as Mary Coughlan, 62, from Mitchelstown, also died in the horrific collision.

Speaking to The Irish Mirror, local priest Father Jim Kenneally, who visited the family home yesterday and today said: “We’re devastated here because she’s a lovely, lovely girl. They're a lovely family. She lost her brother a year and a half ago. Her only brother. There's five girls and one boy and he died at the age of 38 or 40. So the poor mother and father God help them.”

“I was down there today and last night. They are all completely and totally distraught."

Father Kenneally said Susan, 41, had made a last minute decision to take her children to a fun centre with slides before the crash took place. He also said those closest to Susan are distraught and baffled over the crash which took place on a bright day and a wide road.

He also told how Susan’s daughter went into surgery today - and has serious but not life threatening injuries - while her son is recovering well. “I was down earlier in the day. The girl got an operation today. She has a lot of injuries. I don’t think they’re life threatening but they can be quite devastating injuries. The other little lad is ok as far as I know,” he said.

Local Mallow councillor Liam Madden told this paper of the shock in the area - and how brave fire brigade officers did all they could as they arrived less than five minutes after the accident. “The road out there is good and wide, I don’t know what happened,” he said. “Unfortunately this seems to be happening every day. It seems to be constant on our roads. Especially when you see that now with two young kids. That’s tough for them for the rest of their lives with their mother gone now.

“The fire services were there very quickly and within four or five minutes they got to the scene. It’s very tragic and my sympathy goes out to all the family. As the day goes on it's becoming more shocking because unfortunately more people have died on our roads,” he said.

Local councillor Bernard Moynihan, who represents the Boherbue area where Susan was from, said word spread fast in the community. “Yesterday evening as the news spread among a very tight knit, very loyal community -people were shocked. My sympathies go to the family who are really special people, well known, hardworking, decent people. They are lovely people. When word spread the phone began to ring and there’s upset across the area really,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.