THE NAMES of two young men who died following a head-on collision on the Naas road in Dublin early on Sunday morning were released yesterday.
They have been named by gardaí as Owen Merriman (19), of Palmerstown Woods, Clondalkin, and Lee Mooney (19), from Woodford Park Road, Clondalkin.
The two had been travelling in the wrong direction on the dual-carriageway when their car struck a vehicle driven by an off-duty garda.
The 27-year-old garda, stationed in Tallaght, sustained serious injuries in the crash. He is receiving treatment at Tallaght Hospital. A Garda spokesman last night described his condition as "serious but stable".
The crash happened shortly after 6am on Sunday along the southbound lane of the dual-carriageway between the Citywest and Rathcoole exits.
The men were travelling in a Fiat Punto hatchback when they turned the wrong way on to the N7 near Citywest.
They travelled less than half a kilometre before crashing head-on into the garda's Honda car.
The crash was referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission because a member of the Garda was involved.
After examining the scene, it cleared the garda involved of any misconduct in relation to the incident.
Although it was just after 6am on a Sunday, the incident was seen by a number of independent witnesses, and they helped the commission with its investigation.
The deaths of the young men has caused widespread shock and sadness in the Clondalkin and Woodford communities.
Robert Dowds, a Labour Party councillor for the Clondalkin area, said the deaths were regrettable, and represented the worst possible news a family could hear on Mother's Day.
"An accident like this really should not have arisen, and I hope people will learn from this to be more sensible when driving on the roads," he said.
Mr Dowds also wished a speedy recovery to the garda involved in the collision. "The garda involved was an innocent party on his way home from work, and it is an appalling situation for him and his family to find themselves in."
The men were among eight people who were killed on Irish roads over the weekend.
The deaths also included three people in Co Cork, a 34-year-old woman in Co Wexford, and two children in Co Kildare.
So far this year 64 people have died in 56 collisions on Ireland's roads, compared to the 51 people who died in 49 such collisions in the corresponding period last year.
