LAST UPDATE | 46 mins ago

THE GARDA WATCHDOG has found no wrongdoing by gardaí in how they pursued a car that would later crash and kill five teenagers driving the wrong way on the M9 motorway.

Fiosrú made the announcement this morning and said the probe exonerated the gardaí.

The Journal had reported previously that gardaí had a number of interactions with the BMW car with the teenagers onboard around the town of Athy on 15 and 16 August. Gardaí, who are not trained in pursuit driving, were unable to stop the vehicle. 

They fled from gardaí and drove the wrong way on the M9 on a number of occasions – each time gardaí terminated their pursuits. 

The five occupants of the BMW, all teenagers aged between 14 and 16, died in the crash after colliding head-on with a second car. 

Three women and a young boy in the second car, a Hyundai, were seriously injured.

The five dead teenagers have been named as Alex McCarthy, Jack Kennedy, Joe Carthy, Jeremy O’Brien and Kamil Postowski (pictured below, from left to right). 

The Journal has established that gardaí were attempting to put in place a so-called containment for the vehicle in the moments before the BMW sped off from a service station on the M9 and crashed a short time later.  

Today Fiosrú released the findings of its investigation and said that the gardaí who pursued the vehicle “acted in accordance with the law as well as relevant Garda policies and procedures”.

“Fiosrú’s investigation examined evidence related to the actions and decisions of gardaí during their interactions with the car, including the nature and extent of garda contact prior to the collision. The purpose of the investigation was to establish whether gardaí acted in accordance with the law and police policies and procedures,” the body said in a statement. 

Fiosrú said it examined CCTV and radio transmissions and received a briefing from the Forensic Collision Investigator.

“Fiosrú established that on the day of the fatal collision, gardaí had pursued a BMW car.

“Permission to continue the pursuit was granted by the Garda Control Room. After the BMW entered the M9 dual carriageway, the garda vehicle terminated its pursuit and the Control Room confirmed that the pursuit should not continue.

“Other garda units attempted to place a stopping device at an appropriate location; however, the BMW undertook a number of U-turns before fatally colliding with an oncoming car. The five occupants of the BMW died and four occupants of the car it collided with were seriously injured,” the statement added. 

Fiosrú also said that the garda referral of the M9 incident for an independent investigation is the sixth referral that the oversight body received between 2021 and 2026 that relate to garda interactions with vehicles being driven the wrong way on motorways and national roads.

The Police Ombudsman, Emily Logan, sent her condolences to the families of those killed and the injured people, and the gardaí were involved in the incident on the night. 

She said the role of Fiosrú is merely to establish and examine the circumstances of what happened.

“Fiosrú’s independent investigations into referrals of death or serious harm form an important element in the protection of fundamental and human rights in the State.

“Fiosrú’s investigation was independent of gardaí and aimed to understand events leading up to the collision.

“It found that gardaí acted appropriately, within the law, and in line with relevant policies and procedures as determined by the Garda Commissioner.

“Every death on our roads brings untold grief to families and communities. My thoughts are with family and friends and all those affected by this devastating incident, including the gardaí who attended the scene,” she said. 

Fiosrú has been keen to stress that a referral by gardaí in relation to injury or death while the person was in contact with members is not “necessarily” an indication of any wrongdoing.

‘I support them’

An Garda Síochána welcomed the finding by Fiosrú and added that it continues to investigate all the circumstances of this fatal road traffic collision.

A spokesperson said An Garda Síochána will also continue to provide any supports, as necessary, to all members who attended at “that very difficult scene”.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said gardaí are being put in “really challenging situations” and added that garda members ”do what they can to stop such vehicles while also taking into consideration all other road users”.

Kelly said there is a need for “increased statutory protections for gardaí when driving as part of their duty to keep people safe”.

Speaking earlier this week, Kelly said he wanted to “publicly thank all the guards who worked around that horrendous incident that night”.

He added: ”It’s really important that I as Commissioner support the members of An Garda Síochána who are out there every night, when lots of us are asleep in our beds, they’re out there every night and they’re working hard to keep all our community safe. So it’s really important as I say that I support them.”