‘We gather in solidarity’: Hundreds attend Carlow vigil for injured victims of M9 crash

Hundreds of Carlow residents gathered on Friday evening for “prayer and solidarity” with the injured victims of last Sunday’s fatal crash on the M9. St Clare’s Church in Graiguecullen was full to capacity for the vigil. Some attendees were accommodated in the adjoining parish centre and others listened outside in the church grounds to the live stream. Sisters Alma Kinsella, Niamh Kinsella and Ella Hendricken, and their seven-year-old nephew Yemi, were on their way to Dublin Airport when their car was involved in a head-on collision with a BMW travelling the wrong way on the motorway.The incident happened near Moone, Co Kildare on the northbound carriageway, at around 3am last Sunday. READ MOREThe three sisters and boy remain in serious conditions in Dublin hospitals. The five teenagers in the BMW, which was travelling southbound, were all killed. The funerals of three – Joe Carthy (15) from Athy, Co Kildare, Alex McCarthy (16) from Carlow and Kamil Pustkowski (17) from Limerick – took place earlier on Friday. Those of Jeremy O’Brien (18) from Carlow and Jack Kennedy (17) from Athy, take place next Monday and Tuesday. Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Denis Nulty, said the sense of shock and helplessness in the aftermath of the crash reminded him of the emotions felt globally after the September 11th attacks on New York in 2001. Twenty-five years ago, millions of people across the world turned to prayer for comfort and courage, he said.“Six days on from that appalling collision on the M9, we have come to pray for Alma, Niamh, Ella and their nephew Yemi, in the same shock. “The thing is, they could be any one of us on the road from Carlow to catch an early-morning flight at Dublin Airport. It is only right that we gather and know how much this gathering will mean to the girls, their nephew and the family.“We also remember the five boys in the car. That’s the Christian thing to do. They too have heartbroken parents, family and friends. We pray for them,” he said.“We gather in solidarity, support for the three girls and nephew. They so deserve our prayers, particularly at a time when words fail . . . it’s good to come together.”Nulty urged people to be “careful of our language . . . to be careful of our social media posting”.He added: “Words can hurt but they also have the power to heal."Candles, offered to people as they arrived, were lit from a source candle by stewards. Their flames flickered throughout the church as soloist Jessica Nolan sang Heal Us, Lord.As she sang the words “Heal them”, she lifted her arms and the congregation lifted their candles high in response. Mary Butler, TD and Minister of State for mental health, was present with party colleague and local TD Jennifer Murnane O’Connor.Butler said it was “important” to be there “to offer solidarity to the entire community”. “As minister for mental health I can understand the trauma, the mental health impact and distress caused to so many families. “I am really conscious of those three beautiful girls and the seven-year-old boy still in hospital.”Asked why she had not attended the funerals of any of those killed in the crash, including Carlow resident Alex McCarthy, earlier on Friday, she said: “I am here in solidarity with my friend and colleague . . . I don’t think it’s a time to play politics.”Murnane O’Connor, who also did not attend any of the funerals, said she would visit the Carlow families of McCarthy and O’Brien “next week . . . I will contact the families, sit down with them and see what I can do to give them my help and support. “Tonight it is for the family of the three young women and the little boy,” she said. Among those in attendance was local resident Frank Power, who was there “in solidarity with the family who are seriously injured”. He expressed his wishes that they recover, adding: “It was just very sad.”Agnes Dowling said she had been left “very shocked” by news of the crash and wanted to show “solidarity” with the family. Karen Travers said she knew the family. “I wanted to come to support them and hope the prayer helps,” she said. “I am very much still in shock and devastated. It could be any of our kids in those hospitals tonight.“