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Friends and family of five killed in M9 crash tragedy pay tribute to teenagers

The Irish Mirror has established that gardai are satisfied the BMW was not stolen, but had been bought by one of the teens' associates for just 1,100

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Michael O'Toole, Nicola Donnelly and Danny De Vaal

05:00, 18 Aug 2026

[Five teenagers who died in a crash on the M9 in Kildare]

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Five teenagers who died in a crash on the M9 in Kildare

These are the five teenagers killed when they recklessly drove a high-powered BMW the wrong way down a motorway into the path of an oncoming family.

The friends all died in the horrific M9 crash that left three innocent women and a seven-year-old child badly injured as they made their way to Dublin Airport to fly to a wedding.

The dead youths were aged just between 15 and 18.

They were named as: Jeremy O'Brien, 18, from Carlow; Alex McCarthy, 17, from Carlow; Joey Carthy, 15, from Athy, Kildare; Jack Kennedy, 17, also from Athy and Kamil Pustkowski, 17, from Limerick.

The carnage has sparked outrage and led to calls for new laws to stem a new tide of joyriding and a social media trend of cars being driven the wrong way on the countrys motorways.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said: "This has to stop".

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Taoiseach Micheal Martin

Meanwhile, we have learned that the car in which the teenagers died had been bought for just over 1,000 days beforehand.

Sources tell us the black BMW was bought in the Carlow area on August 11 - five days before the tragedy on the stretch of the motorway in Moone in Co Kildare.

Officers initially suspected that the teens had stolen the car after gardai received reports of young suspects trying to break into vehicles and houses in Athy at around 2am on Sunday.

[Alex McCarthy ]

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Alex McCarthy

That was just an hour before the BMW sped down the wrong direction of the northbound carriage of the M9 and slammed into a Hyundai vehicle carrying the innocent Kinsella family that was travelling to Dublin Airport for a flight to England.

The five teenagers all died in the smash and the four members of the Kinsella family - a seven-year-old child and three women - all survived, but were left seriously injured.

Now we have established that gardai are satisfied the BMW was not stolen, but had been bought by one of the teens' associates for just 1,100.

It was bought legitimately from a man in Carlow.

And following the crash, Justice Minister Jim OCallaghan slammed social media companies who profit from the sharing of the deadly behaviour on roads and warned new laws to tackle the wrong-way drivers may be needed.

Friends and relatives of the five began paying tributes to them last night.

Jeremy OBriens mother Margaret posted: "Rest in heavenly peace my beautiful son. Things will never be the same without you. You took a piece of my heart to heaven with you.

"It was such a privilege to be your mother. I am so proud of you."

And a pal said: "I dont think words can describe this today Big Red Jeremy OBrien. You were the most gentle boy with the biggest heart of gold and a personality that would have taken you around the world and back. My heart goes out to your poor mommy and brothers today. Ill miss you living in our yard and me nagging you in the morning to come and run into the shop for my Redbull even though you would end up coming and getting it for me after half an hour of complaining. You were just a young boy of 18 years of age. Ill miss the laughs wed have. Love you my brother forever and a day. Fly high Big Red."

[Jeremy O'Brien, 18, of Carlow, was killed in the M9 crash tragedy]

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An RIP.ie death notice for Joe Carthy read: "Deeply regretted by his loving parents William and Gemma, brothers John, Willie and Ned, sisters Margarita and Mary Doll, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and the members of St Michael's Boxing Club, Athy."

In a statement, St Michael's Boxing Club said on Facebook: "All of us here at St Michael's were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Joe Carthy.

"We want to offer our sincere condolences to Joe's family and friends, and especially to his father Willie, a valued volunteer and member of the club. Our thoughts are also with those who were seriously injured in the collision, and with their families at this very difficult time."

Other tributes attracted anger online from people who posted that their sympathies were with the innocent injured family members.

[Joey Carthy, 15, from Athy, who was killed in a crash on the M9]

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Joey Carthy, 15, from Athy, who was killed in a crash on the M9

One post paying tribute to Joe Carthy said: "Why did it have to be you of all people? You would never see a bad bone in his body. He really was going to make something when he grew up."

Tributes were also paid to Limerick born Kamil Pustkowski.

One pal said on TikTok: "Rest easy Kamil. Look over all of us."

Another said: "Rest easy Kamil brother hope u have the best bed."

One pal said: "Only spoke the other day and was planning to meet. My hearts broken bro, missing ye already. We will all do ye proud brother."

[Kamil Pustkowski, 17, from Limerick]

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Kamil Pustkowski, 17, from Limerick, who was killed in the M9 crash

And another tribute said: "My brother wont forget the moments we had."

The BMW is suspected of driving at more than 120km/h when it crashed into the Hyundai near Junction 3 of the M9 in Co Kildare at around 3am on Sunday.

The occupants of the Hyundai, three women and a young child, were from the same extended family from Carlow. They were all lucky to survive the crash but suffered serious injuries.

They were named locally as Ella Hendricken, Niamh and Alma Kinsella from Carlow.

The boy, aged just seven, is being treated at Crumlin Children's Hospital.

The female driver and front seat passenger remain critically ill in Tallaght University Hospital in south Dublin.

And the woman who was in the back seat beside the boy was in a serious condition at St. Luke's General Hospital in Kilkenny, but was later moved to St Vincent's Hospital in south Dublin.

Multiple social media accounts have posted videos purporting to show the five teenagers killed in the M9 crash in the hours before the tragedy.

Footage has emerged, which claims to show the victims in the final hours before their deaths and has been widely circulated across social media.

One video, shared online, carries the caption: "Ur last spin boys. To hear your voices in this boys has me in a pain that cant be described."

The footage, which appears to have been recorded from inside a car, shows a patrol car travelling behind it with its blue lights activated.

In another video, filmed from inside a BMW travelling along a main road, the camera pans towards the passenger seat, where a male is seen wearing a black balaclava.

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In another video, filmed from inside a BMW travelling along a main road, the camera pans towards the passenger seat, where a male is seen wearing a black balaclava

The video carries the captions: "I love ya brother" and "Gonna be missed boys."

The authenticity and timing of the individual videos has not been independently verified, and it is not clear whether all of the footage relates to the five teenagers who died.

The material has been widely circulated on social media following the fatal collision, with some accounts claiming the videos show the young men in the BMW before the crash.

Meanwhile, gardai continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash, while Fiosru, the Garda Siochana Ombudsman, is also examining Garda contact with the BMW before the collision.

The circulation of the videos online is likely to add to efforts to establish the movements of the vehicle and its occupants in the period before the fatal crash.

A video showing another car being driven against the flow of motorway traffic has prompted further calls for road safety enforcement in the wake of the horrific M9 crash. A clip shared widely on social media shows a vehicle travelling at speed while driving the wrong way down a busy road. The short video shows the car narrowly avoiding two oncoming heavy goods vehicles, with the second truck swiftly moving over to avoid a potential collision.

It is one of a number of alleged joyriding clips that have surfaced in recent days following a crash on the M50 last week and Sunday's horrific head-on crash that claimed the lives of five teenagers. Assistant General Secretary, Garda Representative Association (GRA), Tara McManus referenced the clip in an appearance on The Last Word with Matt Cooper.

[The scene on the M9 northbound at Junction 3 in Co Kildare]

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The scene on the M9 northbound at Junction 3 in Co Kildare(Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)

When asked if social media clips should be used as evidence of criminal behaviour, she said: "This morning I saw a video of a car being driven the wrong way down the motorway in Cork, literally only 24 hours after five young men were killed."

The GRA rep also called for Gardai to be given appropriate pursuit training to deal with these incidents going forward.

Gardai in Athy are continuing their investigation into the crash, but the M9 was fully reopened to traffic on Monday morning.

Earlier, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) said its members were "all in shock" after the "horrific incident".

GRA vice-president John Joe O'Connell said the BMW had earlier failed to stop for Gardai and that it was his understanding that an instruction was given not to engage with the vehicle as it travelled the wrong way down the M9.

Asked if this was standard procedure, he told RTE's Morning Ireland: "It would be standard practice, and the command and control centre would be dictating what happens in a live environment - but the members in the cars have to make a split-second decision."

Mr O'Connell said there were "numerous gangs" of boys and young men "trying to outdo each other" in social media videos depicting interactions with Gardai, pursuits and wrong-way driving.

"Our members are not going to follow down that route - we're damned if you do and damned if you don't, that way," he said.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he was "shocked and saddened" at the tragedy, which he described as being the result of "an irresponsible and dangerous act".

Mr Martin said such incidents are, in some cases, "being done for likes on social media". He said: "This is the second appalling crash we've seen on our roads in a matter of days as a result of the reckless driving of a car on the wrong side of the motorway, endangering the lives of innocent road users."

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