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The scene of the crash in Kildare (Niall Carson\/PA)<\/p>\nGarda\u00ed maintained a presence around the funeral mass of a teenager who died in a horror wrong-way crash on a motorway last weekend.<\/p>\n
oe Carthy and Alex McCarthy were among five teenagers who died when the car they were travelling in was driven the wrong way down the M9 and was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle.<\/p>\n
They died alongside Jack Kennedy, Jeremy O\u2019Brien and Kamil Pustkowski.<\/p>\n
The scene of the crash in Kildare (Niall Carson\/PA)<\/p>\n
A child and three women from the same family, who were in the other car, are being treated for serious injuries in hospital.<\/p>\n
A vigil in support of the family, who were on the way to Dublin Airport for a holiday, is to take place on Friday evening.<\/p>\n
The crash has renewed focus on enforcement of dangerous driving, the regulation of social media content, and the provision of State care to children.<\/p>\n
Joe\u2019s funeral began in Athy, Co Kildare, on Friday morning, where the garda\u00ed had a visible presence in the town amid outcry over the circumstances of the crash and concern for possible disorder.<\/p>\n
The coffin arrived at the church on a white horse-drawn carriage.<\/p>\n
Mourners followed the coffin into the church, wearing white T-shirts depicting an image of the boy while others raised framed photographs.<\/p>\n
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A family travelling in the other car remain in hospital (Niall Carson\/PA)<\/p>\n
The priest extended \u201csincere sympathy to Joe\u2019s family\u201d, adding: \u201cWe gather with sorrow in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n
An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na maintained checkpoints on the road into town, while officers were also present in the area around the church.<\/p>\n
There were similar scenes for Alex\u2019s funeral mass at Holy Family Church, Askea, Carlow, on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Garda\u00ed were also present as a white, horse-drawn carriage brought the coffin to the church.<\/p>\n
Father Tom Little told mourners they had come together \u201cwith heavy hearts and a deep sense of sadness\u201d as he said prayers would remember \u201cfamilies on both sides of the accident\u201d.<\/p>\n
In his homily, he said: \u201cConscious that lives have been lost, others have been injured, and families have been left to carry the grief that is so difficult to put into words.<\/p>\n
\u201cA tragic accident can happen in seconds and the result of it can last a lifetime.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese types of accidents bring a deep sense of shock, anger, questions, regret, and even a sense of disbelief.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWords cannot express the true feelings of our heart, so today is a day for compassion, prayer, and remembrance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remember in our prayers those who have been injured and pray that they may make a good recovery, thanking God that they have survived, thanking God for the emergency services, doctors, nurses and ambulance staff and all who care for the sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside the service, a screen displayed pictures and videos while music played. Blue carpet led the way to the church steps, with white flowers placed around the entrance.<\/p>\n
A funeral mass for Alex is scheduled to take place in Holy Family Church, Askea, Carlow, on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Carlow on Friday evening, a vigil will be held for three sisters \u2013 Ella Hendricken and Niamh and Alma Kinsella \u2013 as well as a young boy who were the occupants of the other vehicle.<\/p>\n
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The offices of Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n in Dublin (Niall Carson\/PA)<\/p>\n
A fundraiser for the affected family had raised more than \u20ac640,000 by Friday morning.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the week, Ireland\u2019s child and family agency Tusla confirmed one of the deceased teenagers was in its care, while two other boys were \u201cknown\u201d to the it.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Following the crash, Government and opposition politicians have criticised social media companies for failing to restrict or quickly remove content depicting dangerous driving.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, TikTok declined to publicly appear before a parliamentary committee probing online videos of dangerous driving, with the social media giant instead offering a private briefing to lawmakers.<\/p>\n
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TikTok has declined to appear before a parliamentary committee (Danny Lawson\/PA)<\/p>\n
It had been invited to appear before the Oireachtas Media Committee on September 23 to address issues on how it deals with content that \u201cglorifies illegal activity\u201d, but has declined the opportunity.<\/p>\n
Media regulator Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n has also sought a \u201cfull account\u201d of how TikTok is dealing with reports of illegal or harmful content on its platform, with the authority adding it is in \u201cclose contact\u201d with An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na.<\/p>\n
TikTok said it would not be \u201cpossible\u201d to appear before the committee given investigations into the matter by garda\u00ed and the regulator.<\/p>\n
It also said it would not be \u201cappropriate\u201d for it to be the sole video-sharing company to be called in front of the committee when similar content appears on other social media platforms.<\/p>\n
![\"Garda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787359823_225_funerals-held-for-two-teenagers-killed-in-m9-crash.jpg\")
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly and Justice Minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan (Brian Lawless\/PA)<\/p>\n
The company says it has removed all the flagged content and banned accounts that violate its policies against criminal behaviour.<\/p>\n
It also said it removes content that glorifies violence and promotes crime that could harm others, while limiting the spread of material that encourages unsafe behaviour including risky driving.<\/p>\n
Meta, which operates Instagram and Facebook, has policies to restrict users under 18 from seeing imagery depicting real-life dangerous driving likely to cause injury, as well as a prohibition of content promoting criminal or harmful activities such as high-risk viral challenges.<\/p>\n
Snap has also been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n
Justice Minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan committed to providing An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na with \u201cwhatever resources they require\u201d to deal with dangerous driving in the wake of the crash \u2013 including introducing pursuit-specific training for the first time.<\/p>\n
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Five teenagers in a car driving the wrong way down the motorway were killed in the crash (Niall Carson\/PA)<\/p>\n
He said Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly will begin implementing the training this year.<\/p>\n
A decision was taken to instruct garda\u00ed not to pursue the BMW occupied by the teenagers the wrong way down the motorway.<\/p>\n
Local garda\u00ed said it had earlier failed to stop for police.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Callaghan is also exploring the introduction of a specific offence for deliberately driving against the flow of traffic on a motorway.<\/p>\n
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