There is a raw grief in the village of Moira on Thursday morning.
The tragic events of Wednesday afternoon are still fresh in the minds of local residents and business people. One man said the village will be “in mourning” for the next few days.
Sadly, police confirmed a one-year-old boy lost his life after a collision between two people and a lorry on Wednesday. He has been named in the Funeral Times as Frank Michael McIlduff.
READ MORE: Moira crash: Boy, aged 1, dies and woman in her 60s 'seriously injured'
The other person involved was the little boy's grandmother, who is being treated in hospital for serious injuries. Frank was described as a "precious son" and "much-loved grandson" in a death notice released on Thursday.
As the tragedy unfolded, staff from local businesses and passers-by sought to help. One businessman told how a staff member rushed to the aid of the grandmother. He said the man had been very badly affected by what he had witnessed.
Other businesses nearby have opened this morning but there is a sadness and a heartbroken silence at the unimaginable tragedy.
Residents and staff in local shops are not keen to discuss the incident, as it is still too immediate and painful.
That is the sense from this picturesque town, of a grief that is very difficult to comprehend, never mind process.
One local man said that they wished to pass their condolences on to the family and added: "When something like this happens, it’s sad, but it’s 100 times worse when there’s a child involved”.
The Rev Joanne Megarrell was holding a service near to the site of the crash when it occurred.
She said: "Once a couple of people came back up to the church, we had service there at one o'clock, they were making their way down Main Street.
"They could see that there was a lorry at the bottom of the Main Street, and that there had been some serious accident that occurred by the commotion that was going on.
"They immediately ran back up to the church, where I was just about to leave.
"They were completely traumatised and in shock. They weren't aware of exactly what had happened at that stage, but they knew it was serious."
Ms Megarrell spoke of the community's grief in response to the tragedy.
"The community is just reeling with shock with what has happened," she said.
"They're traumatised, trying to process the information that has come to them this morning, knowing that a one-year-old child has lost their life."
Already though, the community is trying to rally around the family, with the Moira Community Association organising a fundraiser.
The message on the fundraiser’s page reads: “Moira Community is raising funds to support the family of the recent tragedy in our community. Your donation will help cover funeral expenses & provide financial/emotional support. Thank you for your generosity.”
Local DUP councillor Caleb McCready said it had devastated the local community.
“It’s something that we could never fathom would happen within our wee village," he said.
“Our prayers and thoughts are with the family at this time and our prayers are that the grandmother will come through.
“The village is absolutely devastated at what’s happened.
“The emergency services were absolutely fantastic and were on scene as soon as they could.
“The local residents that were there at the time also helped the emergency services and those around the incident at the time.
“For all those who witnessed it too, it will be absolutely shocking for them.
“The community association has set up a fundraising page and we’d like to support the family, if they’re open to that, in any way we can.”
Alliance MLA David Honeyford said it was an absolute tragedy.
“We have parents grieving the loss of a young child and also having their parent in a critical condition,” he added.
“My first thoughts are with them at this time.
“My heart breaks, I’ve really no words to describe the pain that they will be going through today.”
He added that the way the community had responded had shown the best of Moira in an obviously very tragic set of circumstances.
“The community here are fabulous,” he said.
“You had people here coming out from the shops, my own father-in-law was in a cafe.
“He came out just after and said the amount of people that came to help was just phenomenal.”
Traffic has been flowing normally at the junction between Main Street and Meeting Street on Thursday, as the village tried to grapple with what has happened.
Across the road from the scene of the collision is a store selling children’s clothes though, a heartbreaking reminder of what has been lost for one family.
Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) Area Commander, Dermott Rooney said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are with the loved ones of a boy who tragically lost his life and a woman who was seriously injured following an incident in the Meeting Street area of Moira yesterday, Wednesday 8 March.
"Firefighters were called to the scene of a single vehicle road traffic collision involving two people at 3.46pm.
"Two Fire Appliances from Lurgan Fire Station, a Fire Appliance from Lisburn Fire Station and the Specialist Rescue Team from Central Fire Station in Belfast attended the incident.
"Firefighters along with other emergency services, rescued a woman who was taken into the care of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. A boy, aged 1, tragically died at the scene.
"This was a very challenging incident for everyone involved and I would like to commend our Firefighters and Control Room colleagues for the professional way in which they responded to this terrible tragedy. As an organisation, we will continue to ensure they receive any necessary support.”
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