M9 wrong-way crash teen brought to church in horse-drawn carriage for funeral as priest says ‘families changed forever’

THERE was a heavy police presence at the funeral mass of the fourth teenager killed in a wrong-way crash on the M9 last week. Jeremy O’Brien, 18, died after the BMW he was travelling in drove down the wrong side of the M9 in Kildare and ploughed into a family driving to Dublin Airport at 3am. Jeremy O’Brien’s funeral today is the fourth of the services for the teens He was one of five teens killed while driving the wrong way down the M9 Credit: PA Large crowds gathered at the teenagers funeral mass in Carlow Credit: Gary Ashe A horse-drawn carriage brought the teen’s remains to his final resting spot Credit: Gary Ashe He was pronounced dead at the scene of the horror M9 crash alongside Joey Carthy, 15, Alex McCarthy, 16, Jack Kennedy and Kamil Pustkowski, both aged 17. Sisters Niamh and Alma Kinsella, 30s, younger sister Ella Hendricken, 20s, and Alma’s seven-year-old son Yemi all remain in hospital with serious injuries after their car was hit by the teens’ BMW. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Garda checkpoints and various garda vehicles, including the Public Order Unit, were all in place in Carlow town ahead of Jeremy O’Brien’s funeral mass at 11am today. Armed garda detectives were also stationed at garda checkpoints on the roads leading to The Holy Family Church in Askea. Jack Kennedy’s funeral will take place tomorrow Alex McCarthy’s funeral was held in the same church as today’s service for Jeremy O’Brien Kamil Pustkowski’s family held a private and low-key memorial in Limerick Joe Carthy, who was laid to rest in a gold coffin, had the first funeral of the five victims Inside the church Jeremy’s remains lay in a plain brown coffin as Father Tom Little asked the congregation to pray for the innocent family “fighting to recover” in hospital. The parish priest said in a funeral homily that there are “no words to express” the “sadness and loss” across the community after last week’s fatal crash. The priest also addressed teens’ “wrong” actions in the speech but urged mourners not to let tragedy “become the whole story”. Father Little told the funeral mass: “Today, as we gather with a deep sense of sadness and loss, we pray for those who have been injured and mourn those who have died. Most read in The Sun “The death of a young person is always difficult to accept. There is something especially sad about a young life being taken suddenly, unexpectedly, and before so many hopes and dreams have been realised. “Today, our grief and sadness is made even heavier because this was an accident that affected not just one person alone. Several lives have been lost, and others have been seriously injured. “Families have been changed forever. There are people in hospital fighting to recover, and there are families who are beginning the painful journey of learning to live with an empty place at their table. “At times like this we are left with no words to express our sadness and loss.” He continued: “We believe that God who gave us life does not abandon us in death. We entrust our loved ones who have gone before us into the merciful hand of God, acknowledging that what the boys did was wrong. “But we must not allow tragedy to become the whole story as we pray for those who were injured and those who have died. “So, today, we give thanks for the gift of life, however short it may have been. We give thanks for the love shared, for the memories created, and for the way their lives touched ours.” Young men attending the service this morning wore T-shirts with a picture of O’Brien emblazoned on the front. A horse-drawn carriage also arrived at the church to carry the coffin following the funeral mass. Jeremy O’Brien will be laid to rest at a graveyard in Co Carlow. The 18-year-old leaves behind his mother Margret, four brothers, grandparents and extended family. Speaking to The Irish Sun on Sunday ahead of today’s funeral Margret told us: “I am not proud of what happened and I don’t condone what they did— I wish my son had never got into that car.” The grieving mother added: “I don’t know if my son was driving the car that night and they made a catastrophic decision to drive down the motorway in the wrong direction. “I raised my son on my own and I’ve now lost a part of me for life, and so have the other mothers. “I also don’t know why they drove in that manner and I pray that the full investigation can establish the facts and tell us the truth about what happened.” Margret also apologised to the three sisters and child injured in the motorway crash that killed her son. She said: “My heart goes out to this poor family and if I could see them I would apologise. “I have said prayers for them and I hope to God that they can heal.” The funeral mass for fellow crash victim Joe Carthy, 15, took place in Athy, Kildare on Friday morning. A large garda presence was also visible in the town as the teenager’s gold coffin was brought to the church by a horse-drawn carriage. The remains of Kamil Pustkowski, 17, were brought to a crematorium that same day, after a low-key memorial in Limerick city with just close family and friends. And the funeral for the third teenager took place on Friday afternoon at the Holy Family Church in Carlow, the same place Jeremy O’Brien’s funeral was held this morning. Alex McCarthy’s flashy blue coffin arrived to the church on Friday, carried by an elaborate white horse-drawn carriage. Speaking during McCarthy’s funeral mass Father Tom Little said the grief and heartache caused by the M9 crash was “difficult to put into words”. He told the mass: “These types of accidents bring a deep sense of shock, anger, questions, regret, and even a sense of disbelief. “Words cannot express the true feelings of our heart, so today is a day for compassion, prayer, and remembrance.” The final crash victim, 17-year-old Jack Kennedy, will be remembered during a funeral mass at St Michael’s Parish Church in Athy at 11am tomorrow. A garda presence at all five funerals was confirmed last week over fears of stunt driving processions or public order incidents at the ceremonies. A source explained: “There won’t be a completely overt presence, but if you have a situation where young lads begin driving recklessly and doing wheelies or anything of the sort, there are resources in place to deal with that, which include the public order unit.” A vigil for the sisters injured in the August 16 crash was held at St Clare’s Church in Graiguecullen on Friday evening, just hours after funerals for three of the wrong-way drivers that hit them. A GoFundMe set up for the sisters by a friend has raised over €739,000 in just six days.