A collision on the M9 motorway in County Kildare, Ireland, has killed five teenage boys and left a mother, her young son and two aunts seriously injured, sparking outrage over a TikTok trend in which young men film themselves driving recklessly, including going the wrong way down motorways, in pursuit of online attention. The case has reignited debate in Ireland over policing, criminal justice, social services and the regulation of social media platforms, as commentators question why the boys sought notoriety through such dangerous behaviour and how society failed to intervene sooner.

Police believe the boys, driving a stolen BMW after breaking into homes and cars, tried to bait police into a chase before crashing head-on into a Hyundai on the wrong side of the M9 at around 3am on 16 August, injuring sisters Ella Hendricken, Niamh Kinsella and Alma Kinsella, and Alma's seven-year-old son, who were travelling to Dublin airport for a wedding. The five boys who died — Joe Carthy, 15, Kamil Pustkowski, Jack Kennedy and Alex McCarthy, all 17, and Jeremy O'Brien, 18 — were known to police, with three also known to child welfare agency Tusla, and several had previously posted videos of reckless driving online. A fundraiser for the injured family has raised more than €660,000, while online reaction to the boys' deaths has been sharply divisive, with abusive commentary prompting relatives to withdraw from public view.