MUM-OF-TWO DANIELLE O’KEANE DIES AFTER DUBLIN RICKSHAW CRASH — WESTLIFE PAYS EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE

SHE WENT TO A WESTLIFE CONCERT WITH FRIENDS, LOOKING FORWARD TO A FAMILY HOLIDAY WITH HER HUSBAND AND TWO YOUNG SONS. DAYS LATER, HER FAMILY WAS FACING AN UNIMAGINABLE GOODBYE.

Danielle O’Keane, a 37-year-old mother of two from Saval near Newry, has died after suffering devastating injuries in a rickshaw crash in Dublin following a Westlife concert.

Danielle had travelled to Dublin with friends for the band’s performance at the 3Arena on September 26. Later that night, she was making her way into the city centre to meet her husband Dave and the partners of her friends when the crash happened on North Wall Quay.

A NIGHT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SPECIAL

According to her family, the concert had been a rare opportunity for Danielle and her friends to enjoy a night out together.

After the show, the four women got into a motorised rickshaw to travel towards the city centre.

The journey ended in tragedy.

Gardaí said that at approximately 11 p.m., a woman in her 30s was struck by a vehicle and taken by ambulance to the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital with serious injuries.

Danielle remained in intensive care for several days.

A DEVASTATING INJURY

Danielle suffered a severe brain injury.

Her family were told that doctors believed she had sustained a “life-ending brain injury” and carried out further neurological testing while she remained on life support.

Her brother-in-law described the family’s heartbreak as they waited through those agonising days.

Danielle was only 37.

She was a wife, a mother and a beloved member of a large family.

SHE HAD SO MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO

Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking details is what Danielle had been preparing for before the crash.

Her family had packed their bags for a holiday to Mallorca, planned for October 5.

It was supposed to be the family’s first holiday together.

Her two boys, Caolán, 5, and Cillian, 2, had been looking forward to the trip with their parents.

Instead, the family was left grieving a future that would never happen.

“LOVING, SELFLESS” AND FULL OF LIFE

Danielle’s family have remembered her as a warm, loving and selfless person whose world revolved around her husband and children.

Her sister-in-law Aisling described her as organised, loving and devoted to her family.

Another family member described Danielle as someone who was “full of life, full of energy” and had a “heart of gold.”

Tributes have since poured in from friends and relatives across Newry and beyond.

WESTLIFE HONOURS DANIELLE

As news of Danielle’s death spread, Westlife reached out to her family.

During their concert in Newcastle, the band dedicated two of their most emotional songs to her: “Flying Without Wings” and “You Raise Me Up.”

Nicky Byrne told the audience that the first song was being dedicated to Danielle and her entire family.

Shane Filan then introduced the second song as a tribute to Danielle and everyone who had lost someone they loved.

For Danielle’s loved ones, the gesture offered a deeply emotional moment during an otherwise devastating time.

GARDAÍ CONTINUE TO SEEK ANSWERS

Gardaí are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision.

They are appealing to anyone who was travelling around North Wall Quay between 10:30 p.m. and 11:15 p.m. on September 26 and may have dashcam or other camera footage.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact Store Street Garda Station or provide the footage to investigators.

A FAMILY LEFT WITH MEMORIES

Danielle’s death has left her husband, two young children, parents, twin brother and wider family facing an unimaginable loss.

A fundraiser established for the family has received an extraordinary response, with more than £129,000 raised as of October 4.

For those who knew Danielle, she will not simply be remembered for the tragedy that took her life.

She will be remembered as a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter and a friend — a woman who had been looking forward to a holiday with the people she loved most.

Danielle was only 37. She had two little boys, a loving husband and so much more life ahead of her.