M9 Crash: Five dead after car travelling wrong way hits family car

They were Dublin Airport bound

All five who died were in the car driving against the traffic, and all are understood to have been young males. A fifth body was found in the wreckage on Sunday afternoon.

The driver and front-seat passenger of the second car, both women in their 30s, were brought to Tallaght University Hospital in critical condition.

A rear-seat passenger in her 20s went to St Luke's in Kilkenny and a seven-year-old girl to Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin. The Journal reported the family were bound for Dublin Airport.

It is believed the car, a suspected stolen BMW, was trying to evade gardaí investigating a robbery in the area. As gardaí had already been alerted to it, the incident has been referred to Fiosrú, the Police Ombudsman.

Garda Commissioner condemns driving behind the M9 crash

Commissioner Justin Kelly said his thoughts were with the injured family, drawing a line to a recent M50 crash.

This horrific incident, following the recent collision on the M50, shows how irresponsible and dangerous driving on the wrong-side of the motorway is.

It follows a summer of enforcement on Irish roads, with a Garda road policing operation and heavy speeding detections over the bank holiday.

He added that what makes the behaviour "even more appalling" is that in some cases it is being done for "social media likes". The M9 northbound was sealed off and gardaí in Athy have begun an investigation.