Vigil to be held on Sunday for four young people who died on way to exam celebrations in Clonmel

A vigil is to be held in Clonmel at 6.30pm on Sunday for the four young people who died in a car crash on Friday night.

Books of condolences will also be opened in council offices on Monday morning.

Luke McSweeney, 24, his sister Grace McSweeney, 18, Zoey Coffey, 18, and Nicole Murphy, 18, died after the car they were travelling in struck a wall and overturned.

They had been on their way to celebrate after the three teenagers received their Leaving Certificate exam results earlier that day.

A prayer vigil will take place in Kickham Plaza at 6.30pm on Sunday, led by the local clergy and the Mayor of Clonmel, Richie Molloy.

On Monday at 10.30am, a Mass in their honour will be offered, according to Father Michael Toomey, who is a chaplain at CBS High School.

Father Toomey urged the community to ask for help if they need it.

“Please, look out for one another in these days, and don’t be afraid to look for help and support in the coming days,” he said.

Gardai are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Anyone with camera footage or images from the Mountain Road, specifically the Hillview area, between 7pm and 7.30pm on Friday is asked to submit it to Gardai.

Adverse weather conditions at the time of the crash, including heavy downpours at the scene when first responders arrived, will be considered as part of the inquiry.

Post-mortem examinations are to be carried out over the coming days at Waterford University Hospital.

Michael O’Loughlin, the principal of Presentation Secondary School where Ms McSweeney and Ms Coffey attended, said the town was “covered in a cloud of sadness and devastation”, and said “no words can express our sorrow, our pain and our grief”.

Local secondary schools in the town that the four young people had attended opened on Saturday to support students as the community comes to term with the tragedy.

Several local sporting events and the Clonmel Pride parade, as well as other activities in the area, have been cancelled in the wake of the fatal crash out of respect for the grieving families.

A senior Garda has criticised the use of a drone over the fatal crash site as “disrespectful” to both the grieving families and emergency personnel.

Gardai said that images of the immediate aftermath of the collision were being shared on social media and messaging apps, and urged people not to do so out of respect for the young people and their families.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, Superintendent Kieran Ruane urged people not to share any drone footage.

“We are aware there was a drone active while the first responders were at the scene and it is very difficult for the members to know that there’s a drone overhead,” he told reporters in Clonmel.

“I think it’s disrespectful to the families of the deceased, as well as to the first responders.

“What I would ask is footage taken by a drone, we would ask that that would be brought to the investigation team so we can assess it and I would ask our communities and nationally for people not to share such footage.

“It’s disrespectful and I don’t think it’s the way we want to remember these four young people.”

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