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Funeral held for Jeremy O'Brien, one of five teens killed in County Kildare head-on collision

A funeral mass has been held for one of the teenagers killed in a head-on collision in County Kildare last week - with a heavy police presence at Carlow for the event.

Jeremy O'Brien, 18, was in the car driving on the wrong side of the M9 motorway on 16 August when it collided with a car driving to Dublin Airport.

He and four others - Joe Carthy, 15, and three 17-year-olds Jack Kennedy, Kamil Pustkowski, and Alex McCarthy - were killed.

A child and three women from the same family, who were in the other car, are being treated for serious injuries in hospital.

On Monday, O'Brien was the fourth of the teenagers to be buried, with a mass taking place at The Holy Family Church in Askea, Carlow.

Armed Gardai - Irish police officers - were stationed at checkpoints on the roads leading to the town, where young men wore T-shirts with a picture of O'Brien on the front.

A horse-drawn carriage also arrived at the church to carry the coffin following the funeral mass.

During the funeral, Father Tom Little told mourners that there is a "deep sense of sadness and loss" after O'Brien's death.

"The death of a young person is always difficult to accept," he said. "There is something especially sad about a young life being taken suddenly, unexpectedly and before so many hopes and dreams have been realised.

"Today our grief and sadness is made even heavier because this was an accident that affected not just one person alone.

"Several lives have been lost and others have been seriously injured. Families have been changed forever."

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It comes as outrage grows in Ireland about dangerous driving and the regulation of social media, after it emerged some of the teenagers had posted content of cars being stolen and driven illegally.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham condemned footage glorifying dangerous driving as "doing something that's truly reprehensible" on Monday.

Meanwhile, Sky News understands the UK government has spoken to TikTok about dangerous driving content being featured on the platform.

Sky News

(c) Sky News 2026: Funeral held for Jeremy O'Brien, one of five teens killed in County Kildare head-on collision

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