A number of people were injured yesterday when a car being observed by gardaí collided with another vehicle near Monasterevin, Co Kildare.

The lives of three brothers and a friend were “snuffed out needlessly” in a “moment of madness” when alcohol and speed combined, a coroner said yesterday.

A lethal combination of drink and speed led to the deaths of three brothers and their friend in Co Offaly last year, Coroner Brian Mahon told an inquest in Tullamore today.

A woman has died and a number of others are seriously injured following a two-vehicle road crash in Co Offaly today.