The communities of Carrickmacross, County Monaghan and Drumconrath, County Meath and Ardee, County Louth have been left devastated following a fatal accident on Saturday that claimed the lives of five young people, all under the age of 25.
They have been named as Chloe McGee, Alan McCluskey, Dylan Commins, Shay Duffy, and Chloe Hipson.
In the days since the crash, Newstalk's Chief Reporter Barry Whyte spoke with locals and those who were close to the victims, gathering the community’s reaction as they begin to come to terms with the loss.
Dundalk crash
“Several communities in County Louth, Monaghan, Meath and Lanarkshire, Scotland are still coming to terms with this unimaginable tragedy,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.
He added that the victims from the Dundalk crash were “five young friends in their early 20s, who I'm told spent a lot of time together. And Saturday night, they were out doing what they did most weekends - socialising.”
Whyte described the atmosphere in the towns as deeply emotional.
“Many people I spoke to yesterday in these three towns, three areas were visibly upset and they really just couldn't find the words to say, just completely dumbfounded and numb by what happened… Just a real sense of disbelief.”
He recalled being in the village of Drumconrath shortly after the final whistle of the Ireland match.
“And you wouldn't have known there was a match on. There was just a real sense of quiet in that area yesterday.”
'Terrible sense of grief'
In Drumconrath, Father Finnean Connachton spoke about the grief felt throughout the parish.
“At Mass this morning, there was a terrible sense of grief around and shock of the silence in the church… We are as a community grieving so severely.”
At O’Fiaich College in Dundalk, staff and students are mourning the loss of Chloe McGee, who taught woodwork and construction studies at the school.
Principal Padraig McGovern described her as “just a star”.
He noted that Chloe “loved working with her students and going the extra mile for them,” adding, “She was an all-rounder, fabulous girl.”
McGovern said sharing the heartbreaking news with students is extremely difficult, and that the school community is taking things slowly.
“We’re just taking it a day at a time.”
Local Sinn Féin councillor Michael Gallagher said the tragedy has deeply shaken Drumconrath.
“The chapel was full with young people last night, actually dumbfounded really at what had happened.”
He added, “There’s five families involved really, and your heart just goes out to them.”
Written by Annemarie Roberts
