A fatal crash occurred early on Sunday on the M9 motorway in County Kildare in the Republic of Ireland, resulting in the deaths of five teenage males. The collision involved two vehicles, with one traveling in the wrong direction on the northbound carriageway near junction 3 close to Athy at approximately 3am. The other vehicle was carrying occupants who were traveling normally when struck by the wrongly-directed car.
Four individuals from the second vehicle sustained serious injuries and were hospitalized. Three women—two in their 30s and one in her 20s—along with a child were taken to various medical facilities including Tallaght University Hospital, St Luke’s General Hospital, and Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin, with two patients reported in critical condition.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly characterized the head-on collision as “horrific” and highlighted an emerging concern regarding wrong-way driving on Irish motorways. He noted that in some instances, drivers are operating vehicles on the wrong side of motorways to generate social media content and gain online engagement, despite the serious risks posed to themselves and innocent road users. Kelly stated that such behavior is “reckless” and “appalling.”
This incident follows a similar collision that occurred the previous weekend on the M50 motorway near Dublin, in which nine people were injured when a vehicle traveled in the wrong direction. The investigation into Sunday’s crash has been referred to Fiosrú, the police ombudsman, which constrains the details authorities can publicly disclose at this stage. Gardaí have requested assistance from witnesses and individuals with dashcam footage related to the collision.
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