Irish Echo News

by Isabel Hayes

For 22-year-old Kildare man Paul Dowdall, the Australian experience had barely begun before it ended in tragedy. The Carbury native had been living in White Gum Valley in Perth for just four months when he was killed in a motorbike accident on Sunday, June 15.

His heartbroken parents, Paul and Christine, have accompanied his remains back to Ireland. They last spoke to their only son just hours before he died, when he called to wish his dad (pictured) a happy Fathers’ Day.

It is believed Paul was killed instantly when his motorbike was hit by a truck in O’Connor, Perth while he was travelling to work at 6.25am. There have been unconfirmed reports that the truck may have broken a red light. Tragically, the young man had bought the motorbike just two weeks prior to the accident, as he found the commute to work by bus and train was taking too long.

The middle of five children, Paul is survived by his sisters Sharon, 26), Caroline, 25, Serina, 16, and Jessica, 4.

 “It’s a terrible tragedy,” said Joan Ross of the Noranda branch of the Australian Irish Welfare Association, who contacted the Paul’s girlfriend, Siobhán Owen, to offer their support. 

“I understand she was absolutely distraught and it was obviously made even more difficult by her being so far away from her family.”

Paul arrived in Australia last February with Siobhán and two other male friends and the group found accommodation in White Gum Valley, near Fremantle. While Paul found work on a construction site in the city, Siobhán worked as a waitress in Cicerello’s Fish and Chip Restaurant in Fremantle.

 “We are in touch with Siobhán and have sent on our condolences to her,” manager Nick Unmack told the Irish Echo. “She was a popular member of staff, always full of laughs, a model employee. Obviously everyone in here was very distressed when they heard the news and we are just so sorry this has happened to her.”

A neighbour of the Dowdall family in Carbury told an Irish newspaper: “Young Paul was the nicest chap that ever grew up around here. He was so quiet, so inoffensive and so talented. This is just not fair.”

A spokesman for the Irish Embassy in Canberra told the Irish Echo that they were assisting the family in every way they could. Members of Siobhán’s family are also believed to have travelled over to offer their support.