Community ‘shocked and numb’ after Athy crash

Four young friends took delight in imagining all the places their lives would take them, but their promising paths ended in a place of grief and sorrow.

As Carlow and Athy prepared for the funerals of the four pals killed in Tuesday night’s horror crash, the chaplain of St Leo’s College, where they sat their Leaving Certificate just over a year ago, spoke to the heartbroken mourners and tried to address their pain.

Fr John Cummins told a private memorial service for Niamh Doyle, Ashling Middleton, Gemma Nolan, and Chermaine Carroll in Carlow Cathedral that a cloud hung over the town, heavy, grey and heart-breaking.