Ireland

Clonmel crash: The four young people who lost their lives

Nicole Murphy, Luke McSweeney, Grace McSweeney and Zoey Coffey are fondly remembered

Nicole Murphy, Luke McSweeney, Grace McSweeney and Zoey Coffey

Fiachra Gallagher's face
Fiachra Gallagher
Sun Aug 27 2023 - 19:00

Grace McSweeney

Grace McSweeney (18) was a former pupil of Presentation Secondary School in Clonmel and lived a short distance outside the town with her family. She had received her “excellent” Leaving Certificate results hours before she was killed in a car crash on Friday evening.

Ms McSweeney was an avid gymnast and dancer, and coached younger pupils at her school in gymnastics before her graduation earlier this summer.

She was remembered as a “kind and gentle” person by the principal of her former school, Michael O’Loughlin. “She was thoughtful, considerate and hard working,” he said.

READ MORE

Zoey Coffey

Zoey Coffey (18) was also a pupil of Presentation Secondary School and lived in the village of Kilsheelan, close to Clonmel. On Sunday morning, a Tricolour flew at half-mast in the centre of the village.

Ms Coffey was said to be thrilled with her Leaving Cert results, received on Friday, and had been looking forward to celebrating with friends.

Ms Coffey was a “warm, vibrant, strong character”, according to her former principal, Mr O’Loughlin. “Zoey was a diligent worker and was very popular with her peers and her teachers. She was central in all aspects of school life in Presentation,” he said.

Nicole Murphy

Nicole ‘Nikki’ Murphy (18) was a student of Loreto Secondary School and lived close to the village of Kilcash, some 15km from Clonmel.

Ms Murphy, who was highly regarded by staff and students at her school, was heading off to celebrate “excellent” Leaving Cert results when she was killed in the single-vehicle collision.

“During her time in Loreto, she developed into a young woman who was kind, gentle and witty and she was a trusted and loyal friend,” said Anne McGrath, principal of Loreto Secondary School.

[ Clonmel crash: Community ‘grieving together’ after loss of four young people ]

Luke McSweeney

Luke McSweeney (24), brother of Grace, was a former pupil of CBS High School in Clonmel and lived locally.

On Friday evening, the car he was driving overturned and hit a wall, killing all four occupants.

Mr McSweeney had a “great sense of humour”, according to the chaplain of his former school, Fr Michael Toomey. He finished his time there in 2017.

During his time at the CBS in Clonmel, Mr McSweeney played rugby and captained a team of his school-mates in a novelty match against the teachers. “He is being fondly remembered, because he was a big rugby player,” Fr Toomey told RTÉ radio.

Grace and Luke’s brother David is a pupil at the CBS.

Clonmel