She was seen on the hard shoulder in Limerick
09:17, 10 Apr 2026Updated 12:23, 10 Apr 2026
Abby Lee Miller, stranded on the carriageway in Limerick(Image: Michael McInerney/SWNS)
An American reality TV star was among those left stranded by the side of a motorway as fuel protests blocked roads across the country.
Abby Lee Miller, best known for her role in the hit series Dance Moms, was seen on the hard shoulder in Limerick on Wednesday.
Michael McInerney, 53, was driving home to Limerick from Galway when he approached the blockade of protesters who are angry with the rising fuel costs in the country caused by the US war against Iran.
He noticed a group of girls standing outside a minibus. Michael pulled over to see what he could do and noticed a woman in a wheelchair arguing with the protestors.
The Good Samaritan approached 60-year-old Abby – who has been wheelchair bound since her Burkitt Lymphoma diagnosis – to see how he could help, and realised he knew one of the protesters who agreed to move and let Abby’s minibus through.
Video footage shows Abby, who hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, trying to reason with protestors and documenting the incident on her phone before Michael gets out of his van to help the girls carry on their journey.
READ MORE: Passengers carry luggage along M50 as major route to Dublin Airport turns into car park
Michael, a scaffolder, who shared his story with Sell Us Your Story, said: “I parked in front of the van trying to figure out what was happening.
“I got out of my car and saw a woman in a wheelchair driving around the carriageway. The girls were distressed. I introduced myself to Abby Lee, but I didn’t know who she was at the time.
“I asked her if there was anything that I could do to help, and she explained how the protestors were not letting her past. “I spoke to them, and they then agreed to open the road for Abby and to let her through.”
The nationwide protests entered a fourth day on Friday and are continuing to cause significant disruption across Ireland.
It has sparked concern over panic buying at forecourts, some of which have run out of fuel, as well as impacts on emergency services and deliveries of key supplies for animal welfare on farms.
The Government is reportedly due to meet with fuel price protesters, along with representative bodies from the agricultural and haulage industries, on Friday afternoon.
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