Lacey, Dawn
November 29, 2003
The Late Dawn Lacey
A joyous Christmas shopping trip to Dublin turned to tragedy for a beautiful teenage girl when she was killed in a road traffic accident on the way home.
Nineteen-year old Dawn Lacey had been shopping in Blanchardstown with her boyfriend Clive Evans for Christmas presents for family and friends, before tragedy struck on Sunday night.
Two days before her death, Dawn had just received word that she had qualified as a beautician, while on the day after the fatal accident, she was due to start in her new job as a beautician in the Spa Centre at Macreddin Village outside Aughrim.
Her untimely death at such a young age plunged the close-knit rural community around where she lived at Coolahullen, Aughrim, into mourning. The news of her death came as a huge shock to people in Arklow, where she had attended school at St. Mary's College and worked in Duffy's Pharmacy.
Her death is most keenly felt by her family: her father Johnny, who is a well-known building contractor in South Wicklow; her mother Teresa older sister Tara; younger brother Sean and grandparents Liam and Ann Downes, of Tinahely to whom deepest sympathy is extended in their sad loss.
Just a month before her own untimely death, Dawn had mourned the loss of her other grandad, Paddy Lacey from Coolahullen.
Dawn Lacey, a bubbly and fun-loving person as well as a very conscientious worker, was a passenger in the car driven by her boyfriend of three years when there was a head on collision involving a car coming in the opposite direction on a straight stretch of road at Athgreany between Hollywood and Baltinglass.
Dawn was killed instantly and her remains were taken to Naas General Hospital for a post mortem examination. Her boyfriend Chris Evans and the driver of the other car were also taken to hospital, suffering from shock and minor injuries, and were released later.
For the past year and a half, Dawn had worked full time in the cosmetics department in Duffy's Pharmacy in Arklow, where she was very popular with staff and customers.
'She was a lovely person, fun loving, and spoke very highly of her family and boyfriend. Everyone is devastated by her death, our customers are shocked, Sandra Duffy said.
Many mourners were moved to tears during her Requiem Mass in Aughrim Church on Wednesday and again at the burial in Ballycoogue cemetery afterwards. Former colleagues from the Aughrim Camogie Club provided a guard of honour at her funeral.
A person with a great love of horses, Dawn was a member of the local pony club and won a competition at Brook Lodge gymkhana two years ago in a jump off on her pony 'Tequila'.
Educated at Aughrim N.S. and St. Mary's College, Arklow she had recently successfully completed her beauty therapy course in Enniscorthy.
Courtesy of the Wicklow People
29th November 2003
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