The floods and a cold snap exacerbated driving conditions across the country and more than 40 crashes were reported in the morning rush alone.

A lorry driver was also left fighting for his life.

Today, motorists are being urged to take care as conditions are expected to be just as dangerous because of freezing overnight temperatures.

The dental nurse who was due to get married in June, named locally as Mary Peare (28) of Bellefield Road, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, died after the car she was driving to work in Carlow town skidded on ice and crashed into an oncoming SUV shortly after 8am.

The accident occurred on a stretch of the N80 in Kilbride, Ballon, Co Carlow, that locals said was very icy after floodwater from an adjacent field froze overnight.

A witness who was driving behind Ms Peare said he saw her car go out of control on a patch of ice and career head-on into the SUV.

The driver of this vehicle was not injured. Another car had skidded on ice and crashed into a fence nearby before the accident but the driver was not seriously injured.

'The roads were absolutely treacherous. Cars were skidding all over the place,' a resident told the Irish Independent last night.

Ms Peare's family, including her fiance and parents Willy and Joan Peare and brother William Peare, were said to be devastated by the horrific crash.

Editor: Please be vigilant when driving & don't take any chances.....

Pic: Thomas Nolan