A 'strong policing presence' is expected at the funerals of three of the teenagers killed when they drove the wrong way on the M9 in Ireland, with the Garda Public Order Unit part of the security plans.
Joe Carthy, 15, Jack Kennedy, 17, Alex McCarthy, 17, Jeremy O'Brien, 18, and Kamil Pustkowski, 17, all died at the scene on Sunday when they drove a BMW into an incoming car near Moone in County Kildare. Three adult sisters aged in their 20s and 30s and a seven-year-old boy remain in hospital with serious injuries.
Funeral security and public order policing
Two of the teenagers' funerals are due to take place today, with another to follow on Monday. The first service will be for Carthy, from Athy in County Kildare, with the burial due this morning in Athy.
Security operations will be in place at the funerals, with the Garda Public Order Unit, commonly known as the Garda Riot Squad, part of the plans. Additional officers are also expected to be deployed from across Kildare and Carlow, focusing on teenagers attempting to perform dangerous stunts during the funeral processions on scramblers or other vehicles.
A source told the Irish Independent: 'Gardaí have to balance the sensitivities of a funeral service with public order policing. There won’t be a completely overt presence, but if you have a situation where young lads begin driving recklessly and doing wheelies or anything of the sort, there are resources in place to deal with that, which include the public order unit.'
Details of the crash and victims
Earlier this week, the funeral notice for Carthy was removed from RIP.ie after a flood of angry and abusive comments appeared in its online condolences section. This afternoon, the funeral for McCarthy is due to take place in Carlow, where he was from. A service for O'Brien, who was the driver of the BMW and is also from Carlow, is scheduled for Monday. Funeral details for Kennedy, from Athy, County Kildare, and Pustkowski, from Limerick, have not been revealed.
Gardai said the car was driven in excess of 74mph on the wrong side of the rural motorway. Videos have emerged captioned 'last spin boys', which reportedly show the teens driving a BMW on a main road. Detectives said the car involved in the crash was purchased legitimately by an associate of the teenagers a week earlier for €1,100 (£940). Tributes shared of the five teenagers posted online showed pictures of them wearing balaclavas and committing crimes like break-ins and car thefts.
Kennedy was arrested last month in Carlow following a hit-and-run which resulted in a motorcyclist being run over by teenagers in a Ford Ranger truck. He was released without charge. O'Brien was investigated by the police for taking part in a traveller feud and was also part of a road rage incident investigation last month, in which a man was assaulted with a slash hook. Pustkowski was charged with a number of offences and, as part of his bail conditions, was not allowed to leave Limerick. The charges he faced included being a passenger in a stolen car, with his TikTok profile featuring videos of cars being driven the wrong way on motorways to escape officers.
Injured family and fundraiser
Niamh Kinsella and Alma Kinsella, both in their 30s and from Carlow, and Ella Hendricken, in her 20s, have been identified as the three sisters who were seriously injured in the crash. Niamh and Alma are understood to have been in the front of the vehicle and remain in a critical condition in Tallaght Hospital, while Ella is in St Vincent’s Hospital in a serious condition. Ella and the child were in the back of the car when the collision occurred near Moone shortly before 3am. The innocent family, from the Graigecullen area of Co Carlow, are understood to have been on their way to Dublin Airport where they were making their way to a wedding abroad.
A fundraiser set up for the family on Tuesday has already amassed more than €630,000 from almost 22,000 donations. The page, set up by Bryan Curley, reads: 'Hi, my name is Bryan and I’m setting up this fundraiser for my best friend Ella and her sisters, Niamh and Alma, who were recently involved in a serious road traffic accident. This has been an incredibly difficult and frightening time for Ella, Niamh, Alma and their family. They are facing a long and challenging road ahead.'
Similar incidents and police response
A similar incident occurred on the M50 in Dublin's Ballymun area at around 3.30am on Thursday, when a group of joyriders drove the wrong way down the motorway. The car was then found crashed and abandoned, with no other vehicles involved, after the driver failed to stop when instructed to do so by Gardaí. This and the M9 incident come after nine people were injured in a head-on collision on the M50 in Dublin with a car travelling in the wrong direction on the motorway the previous weekend.
GRA vice-president John Joe O’Connell said on Monday that there were 'numerous gangs' of boys and young men 'trying to outdo each other' in social media videos depicting interactions with Gardaí, pursuits and wrong-way driving. Stating that his officers would no longer pursue such riders, he added: 'Our members are not going to follow down that route – we’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, that way.' Mr O’Connell criticised those partaking in wrong-way driving as 'playing Russian roulette with their lives and everyone else’s lives'. He urged parents to talk to their sons about the potential consequences if they get into a stolen car 'for the craic and the clicks'.
