The first of the funerals has taken place of the teenagers killed in last weekend’s crash on the M9 in Co Kildare.
Five people died when their car which was being driven in the wrong direction down the motorway collided with another car.
The funeral of 15-year-old Joe Carthy took place in Athy, Co Kildare, this morning.
An Garda Síochána maintained checkpoints on the road into town, while officers were also present in the area around the church.
The priest extended his “sincere sympathy to Joe’s family”, adding “we gather with sorrow in our hearts”.
The coffin arrived at the church on a white horse-drawn carriage.
The coffin of Joe Carthy seen arriving at St Michael the Archangel Church in Athy (Photo: Collins)
Mourners followed the coffin into the church, wearing white T-shirts depicting an image of the boy while others raised framed photographs.
A funeral mass for Alex McCarthy, who was 16, is scheduled to take place in Holy Family Church, Askea in Carlow, this afternoon.
The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Denis Nulty has said it is a very tough day for Carlow ahead of a vigil that is taking place tonight in Graiguecullen for the family injured in the crash.
The three women and a seven-year-old boy, who had been travelling to Dublin Airport, are being treated for serious injuries in hospital.