The funeral notice for 15-year-old Joey Carthy, who died in the wrong-way motorway crash on the M9 in County Kildare, Ireland, has been removed from RIP.ie. The notice for Carthy, from Athy, Co Kildare, was posted on the site on Monday morning and removed a few hours later. RIP.ie, owned by The Irish Times, has said it does not comment on individual funeral notices.
Over 600 comments before removal
More than 600 comments were posted on the funeral notice for Carthy on the RIP.ie Facebook page before it was removed. Some expressed sympathy with the Carthy family, while others were angry following the incident, which saw five boys driving a car, reportedly wearing masks and balaclavas, down the wrong side of a motorway.
Funeral notices for the four other teens in the vehicle – Kamil Pustkowski, 17, from Limerick; Jack Kennedy, 17, from Athy; Jeremy O’Brien, 18, from Carlow; and Alex McCarthy, 17, from Carlow – have not yet been published.
Tributes from boxing club
St Michael’s Boxing Club in Athy paid tribute to Carthy on its Facebook page. The statement read: “All of us here at St Michael’s were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Joe Carthy. We want to offer our sincere condolences to Joe’s family and friends, and especially to his father Willie, a valued volunteer and member of the club. Our thoughts are also with those who were seriously injured in the collision.”
Three sisters and a seven-year-old boy were injured in the crash. Niamh and Alma Kinsella, both in their 30s, remain in a critical condition in hospital following the head-on collision. Their sister Ella Hendricken, in her 20s, and her young nephew were also seriously injured.
Community response
The family were on their way to Dublin Airport for a wedding abroad when the boys in the BMW collided with their car. Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Carlow Parish Priest Fr Thomas Little, who has spoken to affected families, said: "The families of the ones that were hurt are hoping to God that they make a speedy recovery. The community is praying for them and we remembered them in our Masses since the car accident. Those that have lost loved ones are bereft and regret that it has ever happened. There's no doubt a horrendous accident and the emergency services and the guards and hospitals have responded as best they can to the circumstances."
