LATEST: 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 on Friday.

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 12 noon on Friday.

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 12 noon on Friday.

Kirsty, from Ballyfruit close to where the single-vehicle accident happened at 5.45am on Monday morning, 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 at University College Hospital in Galway city for multiple injuries.

Another second-year student in the school, the 14-year-old girl, has been transferred from UHG to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin for treatment.

The 13-year-old boy, a first-year student at the school, is also in serious condition at UHG.

PREVIOUSLY: THE deaths of two teenagers in a road crash in Galway, that also left two fellow school students in hospital, has shocked the nation, a minister has said.

Jack Chambers, the junior transport minister, described the collision in Headford on Easter Monday as an “unspeakable tragedy”.

Two 14-year-old students, named locally as Lucas Joyce and Kirsty Bohan, died in the crash.

Two other young teenagers, a boy and girl, were injured and taken to hospital.

The four young people, all pupils at Presentation College in Headford, were the only occupants of the vehicle that crashed at around 5.45am on Monday on the L6127 at Glennagarraun in the Ballyfruit area of Headford.

Gardaí are investigating the crash and how the four young people came to be travelling on the road in the one vehicle.

“I just want to echo my own sympathies to the families of Kirsty and Lucas,” Mr Chambers told RTÉ Radio One.

“It’s a devastating tragedy in Galway and to have young people’s lives lost at the weekend, I think it has shocked the nation, I know it’s an unspeakable tragedy for the families, their friends, and their community.”

Presentation College opened yesterday for a three-hour period to offer support to students following the tragedy.

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 Department of Education said that the National Educational Psychological Service would be involved in providing support to students.

“The Department of Education joins with the community of Headford in Co Galway as we mourn the devastating loss of beloved students this weekend,” it said in a statement.

“Our thoughts are with the families who are mourning the loss of their children, and with the students and their families who are currently receiving care in hospital following the incident.

“Within the local school, the wellbeing of the students, staff, and whole school community is of paramount importance.”

Parish priest in Headford, Fr Ray Flaherty, told RTÉ Radio One that the community was numbed.

“It’s just terrible news that has been received on Easter Monday after celebrating Easter over the weekend and the community is totally numbed,” he said.

“They’re shocked and they’re in disbelief really of what has happened to these young people because they’re all known, the families to the local people, and the local communities around Headford as well.

“So we’re just in disbelief really, to be honest,” Fr Flaherty added.

“A young person, when they die they’re always remembered as being a young person, they have just started their lives and all of a sudden it’s taken from them so quickly.”