Stiff and sore TD admits he is 'lucky to be alive' after dramatic crash in which his car flipped over

A TD has admitted he is ‘lucky to be alive’ after a dramatic motorway crash in which his car flipped over and collided with a barrier.

Independent Deputy Richard O’Donoghue, 51, was returning the Dáil on Thursday last when his car “flipped” on sleet. “

He was obviously badly shaken, and the car was seriously damaged, but the main thing is that he was extremely lucky to come away from it uninjured. Yes, he is stiff and sore,” said a spokesperson for Mr. O’Donoghue.

“Richard’s biggest fear was that after his car flipped and landed back on the road was that he’d get hit by another vehicle. He is just thankful to be alive.”

Ironically, the TD later attended University Hospital Limerick (UHL), the management of which he has clashed with in several high-profile outings of late.

“Richard was assessed, and it was felt, only as a precaution, that he be held overnight. He had an x-ray, CT scan and an MRI,” the TDs’ spokesperson stated from his constituency office in Kilmallock.

When contacted himself, Deputy O’Donoghue stated: “The doctors and nurses were top class, working under extreme pressure.

"And, unfortunately, I witnessed first-hand the chaotic nature of overcrowding. I was on a trolley for several hours myself.

"At one stage, I counted myself and 46 others on a trolley on both sides of a corridor. Chaotic stuff, to be honest.

“I was in three different zones, A, B and C, and there were people on trolleys in everyone of them.

He added: “There is only one solution to it and that is to immediately re-open the A&Es at Ennis and Nenagh.”

Deputy O’Donoghue is a first-time TD, having secured the third and final seat in Limerick County two years ago