A young mother has been killed in a hit and run just weeks after giving birth to a baby.
Marguerita Sheridan sustained severe injuries and tragically passed away following a collision with a van at 12.15pm on December 21 in Rathkeale, Co Limerick. Some sources suggest that she was positioned behind a set of gates that the driver crashed through.
Her husband, Dennis, has recently posted heart-wrenching images online of their newborn son Edward on Christmas Day. The photos show the baby surrounded by toys that his late mother will never have the opportunity to see him enjoy.
Concurrently, an individual has been taken into custody, appeared in court, and been accused of causing her death due to reckless driving. Additionally, this person faces charges related to possessing a machete and issuing threats to a family member.
Friends paid their respects online, commenting: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this. Please Marguerita comfort Dennis and your baby. You should be here with them. Life’s so unfair. You were too good for this big bad world. RIP Maggie.’
Another lamented: ‘My Jesus look down upon this poor man and his little boy.’
A solemn vigil was held by hundreds of grieving family members and friends on Christmas Eve.
Mourners gathered by candlelight in remembrance of the mother at Abbey Grounds in Rathkeale.
Her father, John Sheridan, remembered her as a ‘true legend’ in the traveller community.
Marguerita Sheridan had critical injuries and sadly passed away after a van crashed into her at 12.15pm on December 21 in Rathkeale, Co Limerick
Her marriage to Dennis was called a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ romance
The 21-year-old’s husband Dennis shared heartbreaking photos of their newborn son on Christmas Day, surrounded by toys his mother will never see him play with
Tributes to the young mother have been posted on TikTok
Marguerita had her wedding last year and had just had her first child
He expressed his gratitude to ‘the gardai, nurses, doctors, priests, the settled people in Rathkeale, the Travelling community, and everyone’ – for their kind words.
He wrote on social media: ‘I want to say thanks to the gardai, the nurses, the doctors, the priests, the settled people in Rathkeale, the Travelling people and everyone for the messages.
‘The local shops, hotels for everything and everyone who called to my house and everyone over the world thank you.
‘Rest in peace my beautiful daughter. Marguerita Sheridan, you are a true legend.’
Around one thousand mourners came to her funeral as a cortege, featuring 10 horses, transported the young mother to her final resting place.
The chief celebrant said he knew Marguerita since she was a young child and she married last year.
‘She was the heart and soul of her family, full of divilment, full of wonder, and loved – as all the girls here love – to get the hair done and the make-up done.
‘She fell in love when she met Dennis and they were like Romeo and Juliet. They just loved each other – she saw no one else except him,’
‘A month ago yesterday they welcomed baby Edward into their lives and so a month after he was born she was brought to this church.
‘Everyone loved her. She was so well-liked.’
Among the family members named at her funeral as mourning her were not only her husband Dennis but also her parents John and Doite, her sister Eileen, her brothers Paddy and Freddy and uncles James, Patrick, Michael, and Danny.
Tributes have also been left on Marguerita’s TikTok videos, with one reading: ‘Heartbreaking rip beautiful angel in heaven. God give your family strength to try and get through each day and baby left without their mummy.’
Danny O’Donoghue, 42, has appeared in court on Christmas Eve charged with dangerous driving causing Ms Sheridan’s death; as well as causing criminal damage to a set of gates, threatening to kill or cause serious harm to Patrick Sheridan, producing a machete while he made the alleged threat and causing criminal damage to Mr Sheridan’s van.
