HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE have attended a prayer vigil held for the family injured in the crash on the M9 last weekend.

Sister Niamh and Alma Kinsella, Ella Hendricken and their seven-year-old nephew, Yemi, were seriously injured when the car they were driving was hit by another car driving the wrong way down the motorway on Sunday morning. The family were on their way to Dublin airport.

Five teenage boys who were in the other vehicle died in the collision. The crash has renewed focus on enforcement of laws against dangerous driving, the regulation of social media content, and the provision of State care to children.

The vigil, which was also livestreamed, took place in Saint Clare’s Church, Graiguecullen, Co Carlow.

Bishop Dennis Nulty, addressing the people gathered in the church, said that “they could be any one of us on the road from Carlow to catch an early morning flight.” 

Nulty spoke of 9/11, saying that that day, “millions turned to prayer to cope with the impact of sudden shock, of fear, of grief”.

“Six days on,” he said, “we have come to pray… with the same shock, fear and grief”.

“It is only right that we gather and know how much the gathering will mean to [them].”

“We also remember the five boys in the car,” he added, as “that is the Christian thing to do”.

“They too have heartbroken parents, family, and friends.

“We pray for them this evening.”

Nulty said “it is good to be together” and thanked the first responders who “come from families like all of us”. 

He likened the first responders, as well as the doctors and nurses attending to them, to “the hands and feet of Christ”. 

He also warned of the power of words and commentary, as well as social media, saying “what is posted cannot be unposted”. 

“There are days when we all need that solidarity of care. Today we surround [them] with it,” he said.

Minister of State for Mental Health Mary Butler and Minister of State for Public Health Jennifer Murnane O’Connor at the vigil. Evan Treacy / PA Evan Treacy / PA / PA

Father John Dunphy told the vigil: “We gather tonight, first of all, in prayer.

“And when a community comes together in prayer it gives great strength.”

Dunphy said the hearts of the community had been “numb” since Sunday morning, but said “our hearts too went out to” the affected family.

“We prayed that they will recover. We knew it would be a long road back. Thankfully, they’re on that road and please God, they will make a full recovery.” 

The service included a prayer for healing which involved sharing the flame from one source candle in the church among smaller candles held by those gathered.

Various hymns were sung by the congregation throughout the vigil, including an opening rendition of In This Place by Trevor Thomson. 

A fundraiser set up for the family injured in the crash has so far raised over €675,000.

Funerals for three of the five teenage boys killed in the crash were also held today.

Additional reporting by PA