The five young people who died in a devastating road traffic collision in County Louth, Ireland, on the evening of November 15 have been named. The victims were Chloe McGee, 23, Alan McCluskey, 23, Dylan Commins, 23, Chloe Hipson, 21, and Shay Duffy, 21. They were travelling in a Volkswagen Golf when it collided with a Toyota Land Cruiser on the Ardee Road at Gibbstown.
Chloe McGee, from Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, was a woodwork and construction teacher who had recently secured a permanent position at the Ó Fiaich Institute in Dundalk. She was described by her parish priest as someone who 'had no bother putting on the wellingtons one moment and putting on the glad rags the next'. Her partner, Alan McCluskey, also 23, from Drumconrath, County Meath, worked as a fencing contractor and helped run his family farm. He was remembered as a 'gentle soul' and 'lovely young man'.
Dylan Commins, 23, from Ardee, County Louth, was a mechanic and motocross enthusiast. He was described by motoring influencer Sammy Hearney as 'genuine, down to earth, hard working, gentle, smart, actually extremely smart and business minded'. Shay Duffy, 21, from Carrickmacross, was a Gaelic football player and plumbing apprentice at Dundalk Institute of Technology. He was remembered as 'a lovely lad' who always had a smile. Chloe Hipson, 21, originally from Lanarkshire, Scotland, had moved to Ireland for her studies.
Vigils were held across County Louth on the evening of November 17 as the community mourned the loss. The driver of the Toyota Land Cruiser, a man in his 40s, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Another occupant of the Volkswagen Golf, a male in his 20s, also remains in hospital. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
