Carlow Vigil to Support M9 Crash Survivors

A vigil is scheduled for Thursday evening at St. Clare's Church in Graiguecullen, Co. Carlow, to show solidarity with three women and a boy injured in a tragic M9 motorway crash. The collision, which occurred last weekend, claimed the lives of five teenage boys.

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The vigil will be a chance for the community to show solidarity.

Father John Dunphy, the parish priest, stated that the vigil offers the community a chance to support the injured family, who have endured "a traumatic few days." The family was en route to Dublin Airport to attend a wedding in the UK when their car was struck by a vehicle traveling the wrong way on the M9 in Co. Kildare. "The people in the community have shown a sense of wanting to rally around the family involved," Fr. Dunphy told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

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Not just the community and beyond as well and internationally, we’re getting messages of prayers and supports for the three ladies and the young boy.

Messages of prayer and support have poured in from both locally and internationally for the injured women and the young boy. Online fundraising pages have been established to assist them, with one platform already raising over €500,000. "You can’t get any better support than that," Fr. Dunphy remarked, noting the willingness of people to offer both material and spiritual aid.

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You can’t get any better support than that.

While the family has requested privacy, Fr. Dunphy confirmed their deep appreciation for the outpouring of support. "We have been in contact with some of their close family friends and they tell us that they still need our prayers and there will be a long road ahead for them," he said. Prayers will also be offered for the families of the five teenage boys who died in the crash. "All deaths as a result of an accident are tragic," Fr. Dunphy added. "Now that the dust has settled people realise that the boys have parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins and they are hurting."

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We have been in contact with some of their close family friends and they tell us that they still need our prayers and there will be a long road ahead for them.