Hundreds turn out for vigils to remember victims of ‘devastating’ road crash

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

Hundreds of people have taken part in vigils to remember five young adults who died in a Co Louth crash.

Three separate vigils were arranged in Ardee, Co Louth; Drumconrath, Co Meath; and Aughnamullen, Co Monaghan; to pay tribute to the deceased on Tuesday night.

The victims in the crash were: Chloe McGee, 23, and Shay Duffy, 21, both from Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan; Alan McCluskey, 23, from Drumconrath in Co Meath; Dylan Commins, 23, from Ardee in Co Louth; and Chloe Hipson, 21, from Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

They were travelling together in a Volkswagen Golf while on their way to Dundalk for a night out when they died in the crash on Saturday.

A sixth person who was in the car, also aged in his 20s, was taken to hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

Two other people were also injured in what gardaí described as a “shocking and devastating” crash.

The incident, which involved the Golf and a Toyota Land Cruiser, happened on a road near Dundalk just after 9pm.

Post-mortem examinations of the deceased have now been completed and their remains have been released to their families.

The sixth occupant of the Volkswagen Golf, a man in his 20s, has been discharged from hospital.

The two occupants of the Toyota Landcruiser, a man and a woman in their 20s, remain in hospital where they continue to receive medical treatment for non-life threatening injuries.

Meanwhile, gardaí continue to investigate all the circumstances behind the crash and issued a renewed witness appeal.