Thousands turned out for a vigil in Clonmel on Sunday night to remember four young people who died in a road crash in the Tipperary town.
Three 18-year-old friends - Grace McSweeney, Zoey Coffey and Nicole Murphy were killed along with Grace's 24-year-old brother Luke.
They were killed in the single-car crash on Friday evening while on their way to a Leaving Cert results night celebration. Postmortems are due to take place later this week.
Grace McSweeney (18) and Luke McSweeney (24), two victims of the crash in Clonmel, 26/08/2023. Image via An Garda Síochána.
Nicole Murphy (18) and Zoey Coffey (18), victims of the crash in Clonmel, 26/08/2023. Images via An Garda Síochána.Mayor of Clonmel, Richie Molloy, says locals wanted to show their solidarity with the bereaved families.
"When this nightmare occurred on Friday night, it brought home to us that it's always there when you go out on the road at night. Are you going to return?
"And I think this is a way of the community kind of coming out and showing their feelings to the families involved".
The vigil in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, in memory of the four crash victims who died on Friday, August 25th, 27/08/2023. Image: Aoife Kearns for NewstalkSchool chaplain in Clonmel, Fr Michael Toomey, has paid tribute to the first responders and emergency services who also attended Sunday night's vigil.
"So this is for everybody to come together finally.
"I said to the young people last night, I think the best support you actually have is probably the person standing right beside you because your friends will be your biggest support and your friends will look out for you, and they will know if you're having, going through a rough time. That'll be the thing, and that's the time to reach out.
"I noticed the emergency services were here, and I think that's wonderful because they played a pivotal role on Friday night, and they had a horrific thing to deal with, and I think it's an opportunity perhaps for us to say thank you to them as well."
