Funeral of Jeremy O'Brien (18) who died in wrong-way M9 crash takes place in Carlow

THE FUNERAL OF Jeremy “Bobbles” O’Brien (18), one of five teenagers killed in a wrong-way crash on the M9, took place today.

A small crowd attended the understated service in Askea, before a burial at St Mary’s Cemetery in Carlow town. Two garda cars were stationed at the church exit.

The teenager died alongside his cousin Alex McCarthy (16), as well as friends Joe Carthy (15), who were buried on Friday, and Kamil Pustkowski (17) who was cremated the same day.

The funeral for another deceased youngster from the incident, Jack Kennedy (17), will take place on Tuesday.

A child and three women, who were in the other car involved in the crash, are still in hospital.

They were on the way to Dublin Airport for a holiday when the car the teenage boys were travelling in drove the wrong way down the motorway and struck them head-on.

Speaking at today’s service for Jeremy at the Church of the Holy Family in Askea, Father Tom Little said the death of a young person “is always difficult to accept”, adding that “what the boys did was wrong”.

“Today, our grief and sadness is made even heavier because this was an accident that affected not just one person alone. Several lives have been lost, and others have been seriously injured,” he said.

“There are people in hospital fighting to recover, and there are families who are beginning the painful journey of learning to live with an empty place at their table.”

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Little added:

“We entrust our loved ones who have gone before us into the merciful hand of God, acknowledging that what the boys did was wrong. But we must not allow tragedy to become the whole story as we pray for those who were injured and those who have died.

So, today, we give thanks for the gift of life, however short it may have been. We give thanks for the love shared, for the memories created, and for the way their lives touched ours.”

The late teenager’s brothers Jamie, Felix and Myles read prayers of the faithful.

Jamie told mass goers: “We pray for that god may welcome him to the joy of heaven. We pray for all those who were involved in the accident and we pray for all the family affected by the accident.”

Felix thanked emergency services who attended the incident.

He also said: “We pray for all road users that God may help us to be careful and respectful on the road.”

He added that they pray those in hospital may “make a speedy recovery”.

Jeremy’s body was taken to the cemetery in a black horse-drawn carriage.