The funeral of 18-year-old Jeremy O'Brien took place today in Carlow Town, Ireland, under heavy security, as he became the fourth of five teenage friends to be buried following a fatal head-on crash on the M9 motorway. Gardaí set up multiple checkpoints around The Holy Family Church and deployed a public order unit amid concerns over possible disorder, reflecting the tension surrounding the tragedy, which killed all five young men after their car was driven the wrong way down the motorway.

O'Brien died alongside Jack Kennedy, Kamil Pustkowski, Joe Carthy and Alex McCarthy when their vehicle collided head-on with another car carrying a family travelling to Dublin Airport for a holiday. A child and three women from that family remain in hospital with serious injuries. During the funeral mass, Father Tom Little spoke of the community's "deep sense of sadness and loss," offering prayers for both the deceased and the injured, including Ella Hendricken and sisters Niamh and Alma Kinsella, one of whose seven-year-old sons was also badly hurt. A horse-drawn carriage carried O'Brien's coffin to the church, where mourners, including young men wearing T-shirts printed with his image, paid tribute. Jack Kennedy's funeral is expected to take place tomorrow.