‘Children would have died’: Bus crashes into school wall in Limerick

THERE would have been multiple fatalities of school children if they were playing when a bus smashed into a historic wall and knocked an  avalanche of large rocks down onto the play area, said a former teacher.

It is believed the bus which was situated in the grounds of  Colbert Station -  adjacent to the school - rolled back and  hit the wall and would have landed in the grounds of CBS Primary School, Sexton Street only for the metal railing, said Br James Dormer.

The former teacher in the school and current chair of the board of management said: “It if it happened on a school day multiple children would have been killed and very badly hurt.”

Br Dormer, when contacted by the  Leader, said it was only for the grace of God that it wasn’t more serious.

“The children play soccer exactly where the wall collapsed. The bricks would have fell down on top of them. 

“It is a serious health and safety matter,” said Br Dormer, who believes the wall is listed and could date back to the foundation of the school in 1826 when Blessed Edmund Rice was alive.

The cost of reinstating the wall is unknown but it is understood to run into the tens of thousands of euro.

A Bus Éireann spokesperson confirmed an incident occurred with a contracted vehicle in Colbert Station on Sunday, February 16 at 10.15am. 

“Thankfully there were no injuries to employees or customers at that time. Bus Éireann is currently investigating the matter and the company is not in a position to provide any additional information on this incident,” said the spokesperson.

Denis Barry, principal of CBS Primary School, confirmed to the Limerick Leader  that a bus was involved in an incident where it made contact with the school wall last Sunday week.

He said thankfully, no one was in the school at time so there were no injuries, and all students and staff are safe.

“We are working closely with Bus Éireann to assess the situation and ensure that the necessary repairs are carried out promptly. 

“Our joint priority is the safety of our school community, and we are taking all necessary steps to maintain a safe environment.

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“We value our strong relationship with Bus Éireann and are collaborating with them to review safety protocols. Our joint focus is on implementing measures to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future.

“We thank everyone for their concern and continued support,” said Mr Barry.

The bus company, in question, has not responded to a media query from the Limerick Leader about the incident at the time of going to press.