Ballycastle tragedy: Mum, Clare, was doing lockdown gardening with daughters Bethany and Hannah, community left ‘in shock’

The young mother who died in a tragic road traffic accident with her daughter in Ballycastle was spending her time under lockdown with her daughters gardening, a local councillor has said.
Mum, Clare, with daughters Bethany (right) and Hannah (left).Mum, Clare, with daughters Bethany (right) and Hannah (left).
Mum, Clare, with daughters Bethany (right) and Hannah (left).

The woman, named locally as Clare Smyth, died along with one of her young daughters following a two-vehicle collision on the Whitepark Road in Ballycastle.

The collision involved a quad bike and a tractor at around 4.50pm on Tuesday afternoon. A second daughter was taken to hospital and is understood to be in a critical condition.  

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Causeway Coast and Glens UUP Councillor Joan Baird said the family of the man who was driving the tractor and the Smyths are both substantial dairy farmers who knew each other well.

The farm on the Whitepark road, Ballycastle where a mother and daughter where killed in a crash involving a quad machine and a tractor on Tuesday eveningThe farm on the Whitepark road, Ballycastle where a mother and daughter where killed in a crash involving a quad machine and a tractor on Tuesday evening
The farm on the Whitepark road, Ballycastle where a mother and daughter where killed in a crash involving a quad machine and a tractor on Tuesday evening

She has already called with the two families to offer her sympathies, being a friend of both.

“Everybody is in shock,” she said of the Smyth family. “Everybody is just in a dazed state and exhausted.”

“The Smyths were doing up their garden and were putting in new flower beds,” she said. “Mrs Smyth was off work at present and children were off school and they were spending their time doing a bit of gardening, with plants on the trailer behind the quad.”

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The collision happened just outside the entrance to their farm yard, she said. The farm had two entrances about 100 yards apart.

“I know you can’t go into people’s houses at present but because it is a farmyard I just drove down and spoke to them at the gates of the farms.”

Mrs Baird lives about three miles from the Smyths. When she visited she met Gregory Smyth, father-in-law of Clare.

Clare’s husband, Ryan, is at hospital in Belfast with his surviving daughter, she added.

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The tractor was driven by a man in his twenties from another neighbouring dairy farming family whom she also called with.

“They are just devastated about it,” she said. “It seems to have happened in the flash of an eye.”

She is keeping in touch with the progress of the surviving daughter.

“The whole situation is compounded by the fact that nobody can go and even shake hands with them. All I could do when I called was stand back and talk, which nearly feels like shouting because you are so distant.”

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The family’s minister was on the scene of the collision within minutes, she added.

“I am sending my deepest sympathy to the family and those of my colleagues in council. We were having our first virtual council meeting when this was all taking place and my colleagues were all expressing their sorrow as well.”And just to say to the families at the moment, although we can’t come to you much at the moment, you are not alone because the community will be with you.”

The Whitepark Road was closed until the early hours of Wednesday morning but has now re-opened.

A full investigation is underway and police have appealed to anyone who witnessed the collision or captured the collision on their dash cam to contact police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 1392

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