Schools and community rally round bereaved students as Clonmel grieves

Ahead of today's vigil, school principals and chaplain honour the memory of Zoey Coffey, Nicole Murphy, Grace McSweeney, and Luke McSweeney

Presentation Secondary School principal Michael O’Loughlin; CBS High School chaplain Fr Michael Toomey; and Loreto school principal Anne McGrath honoured the memory of their four former students who died in Friday's crash on the Mountain Road in Clonmel Co Tipperary. Picture: Collins

What started as a day of joy and celebration for young people embarking on a new chapter in their lives ended with their schools and town clouded with unbearable grief, sadness, and total devastation.

The schools in Clonmel paid tribute over the weekend to their paid tribute to “beautiful", "kind" and "vibrant" students who lost their lives in the devastating road collision on Friday night after receiving their Leaving Cert results earlier that day.