Grace McSweeney's boyfriend, Arron Costin, looks on after he and her friends lay flowers at the actual crash site on the Mountain Road in Clonmel Co Tipperary.Rolling News
Thousands gathered in Clonmel, County Tipperary, on Sunday to honor the four young people who died in a tragic car crash in the town on Friday evening.
Zoey Coffey, Grace McSweeney, and Nicole Murphy (all 18) were killed in the single-vehicle crash, while Grace's 24-year-old brother Luke, who was driving the car, was also killed.
The tragic accident occurred during a heavy downpour at around 7:30 p.m. on Friday when the car hit a wall and overturned on Mountain Road.
The three young women had received their Leaving Certificate results earlier on Friday and were on their way to a celebration in Carlow Town at the time of the accident.
Thousands gathered at Kickham Barracks Plaza in Clonmel on Sunday evening to pay their respects to the four victims and heard that the tragedy had sent shockwaves across families, schools, and the country.
Fr. Michael Toomey, the chaplain of CBS High School Clonmel, said young people may be experiencing shock, pain, and denial following Friday's accident, which means that they have started the grieving process.
"For some, it has just not hit us that Luke and Grace, Nicole and Zoey have died. It doesn’t make sense. Why? Why them? The question we will sadly never get the answer to. Not in this life anyway," Fr. Toomey said on Sunday.
Fr. Toomey praised the people of Clonmel for supporting the victims' families in the aftermath of the tragedy.
"When needed most, the people of Clonmel, from all ages, all backgrounds, rallied around together, to help and support not just the families, but one another.
"There are occasions in life where no words actually seem appropriate. We enter total sadness and desolation, we’re numbed, speechless. This weekend that’s exactly what everyone in Clonmel, Ballypatrick and Kilsheelan – right across the country, indeed, have felt."
Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Alphonsus Cullinan also spoke at Sunday's vigil and spoke of the devastation that the families are experiencing.
"Death has visited them, and the beautiful young lives of Luke, and Zoey and Grace and Nicole, left them, and they are silent before death," he told mourners on Sunday.
Many people left flowers and candles at an altar in Kickham Barracks Plaza following Sunday night's vigil, while several people were in tears.
Mourners also left flowers at a makeshift shrine set up at the scene of the crash at Loreto Secondary School throughout the day on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Fr. John Treacy of SS. Peter and Paul Parish told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that Luke and Grace McSweeney's funeral will take place on Friday at St. Peter and Paul Church at 11 a.m.
"We have confirmation for Luke and Grace McSweeney, their funeral will take place on Friday morning at St Peter and Paul Church at 11.30 am, followed by a burial in St Patrick’s cemetery," Fr. Treacy told Morning Ireland.
A notice on RIP.ie said Grace and Luke will "never be forgotten" by their mother Brigid, their father Paul, and their brothers Mark and Luke.