Hundreds lined the streets of Clones county Monaghan last night, as the community comes to terms with the death of two local teenagers.
17-year-old Kiea McCann and 16-year-old Dlava Mohamed died when the car they were traveling in crashed on their way to the Largy College school Debs.
Three others were injured in the crash on the N54 in between Clones and Smithborough, at around 6.45pm on Monday evening.
The driver, a man in his 60s, remains in a critical condition in hospital. An 18-year-old girl is critical but stable, while an 18-year-old boy is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Local Sinn Féin Councillor Pat Treanor says the community came together to mourn the loss of Kiea and Dlava last night.
"We spent yesterday trying to come to terms with it. Last night the remains of Kiea McCann came back to the town.
"There were hundreds lining in the streets, it was an event organised through the Clones Notice Boards.
"There was an outpouring of grief there, I suppose for the first time people were getting together to be able to talk about it.
"It was an expression of the love for the two girls.
"It was also an expression of solidarity with the McCann and the Mohamed families and indeed support for the school community.
"They were from the town itself, Clonis is a fairly small town, the Daimond is the centre of the town.
"One family was from the Daimond just there at the top of the Daimond and the other down in Fitzpatrick Square."
A senior investigating officer has been appointed to examine the circumstances of the crash.
Superintendent Patrick O'Connell, from Monaghan Garda Station, says they need to hear from anyone who was in the area around the time of the crash.
"We've a senior investigating officer appointed. We've already had a case conference in Monaghan Garda Station.
"I can't really go into the details of where we're at in terms of the focus, but we are appealing for any information.
"And our primary concern at the minute is to support the families of those affected, but our, our investigation will progress at pace."
"This tragedy continues to be extremely traumatic for our local community, particularly in the Clones and Monaghan area.
"We will continue to work closely with the teaching and management staff of Largy College to support the students and staff who have been affected by this terrible tragedy."
