Donegal nurse killed in Australia when ‘tree fell on car’
‘A beautiful girl with a permanent smile who lit up every room she walked into’
Mary Ellen Molloy was working in the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Photograph: Ardara GAA Facebook
The 26 year old, who was working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, died instantly in the accident which happened about 4pm Irish time on Friday.
Another young woman in the car, also believed to be from Co Donegal, was also hurt but her injuries are understood not to be life-threatening.
Ms Molloy is from a well-known family and her uncle is Donegal’s All-Ireland winning GAA captain and Fianna Fáil county councillor Anthony Molloy.
Her parents Terence and Angela Molloy, as well as her brothers John and Karl, are being comforted by family and friends.
A full investigation is being carried out by Australian police into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
A spokesperson for the Royal Melbourne Hospital said staff were shocked by the death of Ms Molloy.
“We are supporting the family and colleagues of one of our nurses who tragically died when a tree fell on her car,” the statement said.
“We send our deepest sympathies to the nurse’s family and friends, who are grieving over this heartbreaking loss.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Ardara GAA posted a message of sympathy on the club’s Facebook page.
“We awaken today as a Parish, numbed by the news from Australia of the death of Mary Ellen Molloy in Melbourne yesterday evening. Mary Ellen was a beautiful girl with a permanent smile who lit up every room she walked into,” the statement said.
“Her love for her family was always so evident whenever they were together, and we can only imagine the grief that Terence, Angela, John Ross, Karl Joseph and the Molloy and Gillespie families are feeling at this time.”