Road deaths in 2023 — the most of any county in Ireland (rank #1).
People killed on Tipperary roads, 1994-2024 (NRA/RSA).
The worst single year — 2006.
31 years of road deaths in Tipperary
Every bar is a year; every figure traces to a named NRA or RSA report. Pre-2014 figures combine the former North and South Tipperary Ridings. 2023 and the worst year, 2006, are marked.
Source: Compiled from named NRA/RSA annual reports and RSA county briefings (1994-2024). Pre-2014 figures combine North & South Tipperary Ridings. Every year cites its source. Research: Manus, verified by Fable against RSA headline figures.
The 2023 county table
| County | Road deaths, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Tipperary | 16 |
| Dublin | 15 |
| Cork | 15 |
| Galway | 13 |
| Mayo | 12 |
Source: Road Safety Authority provisional 2023 figures, reported 1 January 2024 (RSA; Irish Times; Tipperary Live; Ireland Live).
Why would a county this size be first?
Tipperary's population is roughly 160,000 (CSO Census 2022) — a fraction of Dublin's or Cork's — which makes its position at the top of the 2023 table disproportionate to its size. The large majority of Irish road deaths occur on rural roads. Tipperary is a large, predominantly rural county with an extensive network of single-carriageway regional (R) and local (L) roads.
Tipperary has one of the largest local-road networks of any county by length, with hundreds of river bridges (the Cahir–Cashel Municipal District record of 25 May 2026 lists 477 bridges). Where a road crosses a river on an old, narrow bridge, on a network with little lighting and little advance signage, the margin for a driver who does not know the road is small. Between 2018 and 2022 alone, the RSA records 47 fatal, 210 serious injuries (RSA County Briefing on Tipperary, June 2023).
Source: CSO Census 2022 (population); RSA rural-road fatality data; Tipperary County Council district records (bridge counts).
Year by year
Each year links to its own record with the source. Rankings are shown only where a primary source stated Tipperary's national position that year.
| Year | Deaths | County rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 | — |
| 2023 | 16 | #1 |
| 2022 | 7 | — |
| 2021 | 10 | #4 |
| 2020 | 7 | — |
| 2019 | 13 | #3 |
| 2018 | 10 | #3 |
| 2017 | 7 | — |
| 2016 | 13 | — |
| 2015 | 4 | — |
| 2014 | 14 | — |
| 2013 | 12 | #5 |
| 2012 | 5 | — |
| 2011 | 11 | — |
| 2010 | 6 | — |
| 2009 | 12 | — |
| 2008 | 21 | — |
| 2007 | 18 | — |
| 2006 | 26 | — |
| 2005 | 15 | — |
| 2004 | 19 | — |
| 2003 | 21 | — |
| 2002 | 15 | — |
| 2001 | 16 | — |
| 2000 | 23 | — |
| 1999 | 17 | — |
| 1998 | 23 | — |
| 1997 | 22 | — |
| 1996 | 16 | — |
| 1995 | 12 | — |
| 1994 | 14 | — |
What we are researching
Raw counts do not explain a pattern. We are assembling, from public sources only, the fuller picture:
- How many people have died on Tipperary roads in each of the last 30 years, and where?
- Which roads and junctions recur? Is fatality concentrated on specific R and L roads?
- How many fatal or serious collisions involve a bridge, parapet, river or water hazard?
- How does Tipperary's rate per head and per road-kilometre compare with neighbouring counties?
- What share of the network carries no lighting, no footway and no advance hazard signage?
- Where a location has a repeat history, was it ever funded for remediation?
Method. These questions are answered only from public sources — RSA and CSO statistics, published coroner and inquest reports, and news archives — geolocated to the road network. No individual is named. Nothing is stated as fact until a public source is held and cited. This is a standing research programme, not a one-off article.
This is a standing investigation. Findings are published as dated entries with their sources as they are confirmed. Where a figure is not yet held, it is shown as an open question, never guessed. Research in progress
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Last updated 2026-09-08. This is a living record — findings are added as dated entries and prior versions remain visible.