'He always put a smile on a passenger's face', tributes to bus driver who died in crash

Fifty-five-year-old Michael Gill from Longford died recently after the bus he was driving left the road and collided with a ditch in Westmeath.

There were approximately 20 passengers on the bus at the time with a number being taken to hospital for treatment to what have been described as non-life threatening injuries.

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Mr Gill, who was an experienced bus driver, was rushed to Tullamore's Midland Regional Hospital, where he later passed away.

Local Councillor Colm Murray said the tight-knit community of Kenagh had been left reeling by news of the tragedy.

"Michael was a good old character and was extremely well got," he said, while revealing how his fellow parishioner was no stranger to the local sports scene.

"He would have been involved on the darts circuit for a number of years and he was also involved with the local GAA club, winning a couple of U21 championships in the 80s."

Mr Gill had previously worked for a number of years with locally based and family-run bus service provider Farrelly's Coaches before joining Bus Éireann towards the end of last year.

His former boss, Liam Farrelly, told of how he even tried to lure him back into the fold as recently as last week.

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"I only rang him last Monday to see how he was getting on and if he wanted to come back," said Mr Farrelly.

"Michael was just a lovely gentleman, a quiet man, inoffensive and even tempered. And because he was such a capable driver, he was never stressed and the passengers loved him.

"He was 16 years with us and the first driving job he had was with us. He was a great driver, he even drove double deckers for us and went all over the country and on tours to England for us."

Cllr Murray, meanwhile, said aside from the professionalism and dedication he showed to his profession, the Kenagh man would be remembered more fondly for his caring and empathetic manner.

"He was just well liked by everybody and everything he was involved in," added Cllr Murray.

"And if there was a passenger who might not have been looking forward to a long journey ahead of them, Michael would always make them feel at ease by putting a smile on their face."

Gardaí, in the interim, are appealing for witnesses to come forward and are especially eager to speak to any motorists who may have dash cam footage to make that available to investigating officers.

Garda Forensic Collision investigators conducted an examination of the scene this morning as part of the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Athlone Garda Station (090) 649 8550, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.