'Entire community is gutted': Funeral arrangements for both Galway crash victims confirmed
Presentation College has shared an image of students Lukas Joyce, 15 and Kirsty Bohan, 14, beside a table of remembrance at the school. Picture: Presentation College
A "dark cloud" has descended on the community of Headford, Co Galway following the death of two teenagers in a tragic road accident on Monday.
Two 14-year-olds, named locally as Lukas Joyce from Annaghdown and Kirsty Bohan from Headford, died after the car they were travelling in hit a tree.
Funeral details have been announced for both Lukas Joyce and Kirsty Bohan and will take place in Headford this weekend.
Lukas Joyce, a second-year student at Presentation College Headford, will be laid to rest in Annaghdown Cemetery following his requiem mass at St Brendan's Church, Annaghdown at 12pm on Saturday.
Lukas is survived by his parents Joe and Neringa.
A second-year student at Presentation College Headford, Kirsty will be laid to rest in Donaghpatrick Cemetery following her requiem mass at the Church of St Patrick and Cuana at 12pm on Friday.
Kirsty, from Ballyfruit close to where the single-vehicle accident happened at 5.45am on Monday, is survived by her parents Christy and Theresa, and her sisters Martha and Ava, who are also students at Presentation College Headford.
Lukas died at the scene of the accident early on Monday morning while Kirsty was later pronounced dead at University Hospital Galway (UHG).
Two others, a 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl both from Headford, are being treated in hospital for multiple injuries.
Presentation College Headford has adopted its critical action plan and opened on Tuesday to offer support to classmates, friends and students.
In a statement, the school said: "We have lost two treasured members of our school community [on Monday] and two other members of our community are injured. We pray for all the families and friends of those involved that they may be granted some peace and succour at this tragic time.
"We also pray for our own school community, that we may find the strength to support each other and carry on. We ask for your support, prayers and the space to grieve as a school community."
The board of management sent a letter to parents on Monday night in which it emphasised its commitment to providing support at a “terribly tragic and confusing time”.
Parents were urged to be aware of the impact the tragedy could have on their children and to take time to listen and to discuss any concerns they may express in the coming days.
The letter also suggested parents and guardians should monitor their children's use of social media, to engage with them about material they view, and to emphasise the need for them to be “extremely sensitive and careful about what they post”.
Local parish priest Fr Ray Flaherty told RTÉ's that the community is in “disbelief” after receiving the terrible news.
He said: “I want to sympathise with the Joyce and the Bohan family on the death of Lukas and Kirsty. The community is totally numbed with disbelief.
“The families are well known to the local people and the local communities and are well-respected. I think, when a young person dies, they’re always remembered as being a young person."
Fr Flaherty added that we think we’re invincible, "but the thing is our lives can be taken from us so quickly".
Fine Gael councillor Andrew Reddington, who is based in Claran in Headford, said the "entire community is gutted."
"We are all thinking of the two families who have lost their beloved children.
"A dark cloud has descended on the entire community of Headford. Everyone is thinking of the families of the young people who died [on Monday] and we are praying for those who are in the hospital.
"We will come together as a community to support the families, but we ask that everyone respect the families who are grieving the loss of their children."
Mr Reddington said the tragedy "is one of the worst things that I remember happening in the area".
"Headford is the main town, but it’s surrounded by rural parishes and a lot of these kids, especially the two young people that passed away, they would know each other," he told
Fianna Fáil councillor Mary Hoade said there was a "shock... numbness... a feeling of despair" throughout the community.
Ms Hoade is the chair of the board of management of Presentation School Headford, where all four teenagers were studying in the junior cycle.
She told RTÉ's : "There will be support for the families involved in this tragic time, the community will be there to support them.
"We're a very big school community, we're a caring community and we will work very close with the students, the staff and everyone who has been affected by this tragic incident."
Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers expressed his sympathy with the families, before telling RTÉ radio on Tuesday that the Government is taking “tangible measures” to reverse the rising trend of road traffic deaths.
He said: “There have been too many lives lost again this year, and it's something that we're absolutely prioritising.
“We are renewing our efforts and just to reassure people of that, we've seen very, very concerning trends.”
Gardaí have said they are engaging with the families of all involved and Garda Family Liaison Officers will formally be appointed.
An appeal for witnesses to the collision has also been issued.
Any road users who may have camera footage and were travelling on the L6127 at Glennagarraun, Ballyfruit in Headford between 5.30am and 6am are asked to make the footage available to gardaí.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Tuam Garda Station on 093 70840, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
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