The funeral of Joe Carthy, one of five teenagers killed in a wrong-way crash on the M9 motorway in Ireland, took place this morning in Athy, County Kildare. The 15-year-old's gold coffin arrived at the church on a white horse-drawn carriage, with police maintaining a presence throughout the service.
Carthy died alongside Jack Kennedy, Alex McCarthy, Jeremy O’Brien, and Kamil Pustkowski when the car they were travelling in collided head-on with another vehicle carrying a family. A child and three women from the other car are being treated for serious injuries in hospital.
Funeral details and community mourning
Mourners wore white T-shirts bearing an image of Joe as they followed the coffin into the church, while others held framed photographs. The priest extended “sincere sympathy to Joe’s family,” adding: “We gather with sorrow in our hearts.”
Outside the service, a screen displayed pictures and videos as music played. A blue carpet led to the church steps, with white flowers placed around the entrance. A funeral mass for Alex McCarthy is scheduled for Friday afternoon at Holy Family Church in Askea, Carlow. On Friday evening, a vigil will be held in Carlow for the three sisters – Ella Hendricken and Niamh and Alma Kinsella – and a young boy who were in the other vehicle.
A fundraiser for the affected family had raised more than 640,000 euros by Friday morning.
State care and political response
Earlier in the week, Ireland’s child and family agency Tusla confirmed that one of the deceased teenagers was in its care, while two other boys were “known” to them. Tusla has committed to sharing information with the independent National Review Panel into deaths or serious incidents involving children known to Tusla or in State care.
Following the crash, Government and opposition politicians have criticised social media companies for failing to restrict or quickly remove content depicting dangerous driving. TikTok declined to publicly appear before a parliamentary committee probing online videos of dangerous driving, instead offering a private briefing to lawmakers. The company had been invited to appear before the Oireachtas Media Committee on September 23 to address how it deals with content that “glorifies illegal activity.”
Policing changes and opposition criticism
Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan committed to providing An Garda Síochána with “whatever resources they require” to deal with dangerous driving, including introducing pursuit-specific training for the first time. He said Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly will begin implementing the training this year.
A decision was taken to instruct gardaí not to pursue the BMW occupied by the teenagers as it travelled the wrong way down the motorway. Local gardaí said the car had earlier failed to stop for police. Mr O’Callaghan is also exploring the introduction of a specific offence for deliberately driving against the flow of traffic on a motorway.
However, opposition politicians say the problems in policing dangerous driving stem from issues around recruitment and retention. Sinn Féin justice spokesman Matt Carthy said a “failure to address” Garda numbers is “fuelling a community safety crisis” across the State. He said: “There is a clear shortage of community gardaí and interventions needed to prevent crime before it occurs.”
