Five teenage boys have been killed in a head-on road crash on the M9 motorway in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Three women and a young boy remain in hospital following the collision at Junction 3 near Moone on the M9 northbound at about 3am on Sunday.

Gardaí say the car carrying the five teenagers was being driven down the M9 motorway in the wrong direction, when it collided with another car.

16/08/2026 Five teenage boys were killed following a head-on collision on the M9 Northbound Photo: Eamon Farrell/©RollingNews.ie

It's understood the teenagers who died were aged between 14 and 16-years-old, while two women in their 30s, a woman in her 20s and a young boy were in the other car.

The women and young boy remain in hospital this morning with Gardaí describing their injuries as serious.

The bodies of the five teenagers were taken to Naas General Hospital where a post mortem examination is due to be carried out on Monday.

A forensic examination of the scene was carried out before the heavily damaged cars were removed on Sunday night.

Gardai say they’re continuing to investigate all the circumstances of the collision.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly, © PA Archive/PA Images

In a statement following Sunday morning's crash, Garda Commissioner, Justin Kelly, said "this horrific incident, following the recent collision on the M50, shows how irresponsible and dangerous driving on the wrong-side of the motorway is".

Mr Kelly said deliberately driving against motorway traffic for social media attention is reckless and can have devastating consequences - and such incidents put Gardaí in an extremely challenging position.

"My thoughts are with those injured in this morning’s collision on the M9. These family members were travelling innocently when they were struck by a vehicle being driven the wrong way down the motorway.

"My thoughts are also with all members of An Garda Síochána and the emergency services who had to deal with this awful incident.

Such incidents show the difficult work we ask our Gardaí to undertake every day to keep our communities safe.”

The collision has been referred to Fiosrú, the Police Ombudsman, and Garda Commissioner said officers are co-operating fully with its investigation.