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2 clusters · 22 sources · 7 days · First seen · Last updated

Motorway collisions in Ireland

Overview

In August 2026, two separate serious vehicle collisions involving wrong-way driving occurred on Irish motorways.

On August 9, a two-vehicle collision took place on the M50 in Dublin near Junction 12. The incident involved a vehicle traveling northbound on the southbound carriageway, resulting in nine hospitalizations. Among the injured were eight male teenagers and a man in his 20s. The Office of the Police Ombudsman, Fiosrú, launched an independent investigation into the matter.

On August 16, a head-on collision occurred on the M9 motorway in County Kildare at Junction 3. At approximately 3:00 AM, a BMW traveling southbound on the northbound carriageway struck a Hyundai. The collision resulted in the deaths of five teenagers. Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly described the incident as ‘horrific’ and noted that such reckless driving is sometimes motivated by a desire for social media likes.

Reports indicate the BMW had previously failed to stop for Gardaí. Because the vehicle had interacted with police prior to the collision, the matter has been referred to Fiosrú.

Four occupants of the Hyundai sustained serious injuries: a female driver and a front-seat passenger, both in their 30s, remain in critical condition at Tallaght University Hospital; a woman in her 20s is in serious condition at St. Luke’s General Hospital; and a seven-year-old girl is being treated at Children’s Health Ireland. The victims in the Hyundai were reportedly traveling toward Dublin Airport. Gardaí closed the M9 in both directions between Junction 3 and Junction 4 for a forensic collision examination and have appealed for dashcam footage.

Entities

Fiosrú · Gardaí · M50 · M9 · M9 motorway

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

Coverage disagrees

Sources make claims that cannot both be true. CLSTR reports the disagreement; it does not decide who is right.

Timeline

  1. about 22 hours ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 21 sources
    M9 motorway collision in Ireland kills five teenagers

    Five teenagers were killed and four others, including a child, seriously injured in a head-on collision on Ireland's M9 motorway after a vehicle was driven the wrong way.

  2. 8 days ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources
    M50 collision leaves nine injured after wrong-way driving

    Nine people, including eight teenagers and a man in his 20s, were injured in a head-on collision on Dublin's M50 after a car traveled the wrong way on the southbound carriageway.

Sources

breakingnews.ie · ca.sports.yahoo.com · chosic.com · correiomanha.pt · eveningstandard.co.uk · extra.ie · gbnews.com · gript.ie · independent.co.uk · metro.co.uk · newstalk.com · newstalk.ie · northernsound.ie · singtao.com · Standard.co.uk · telegram.hr · thejournal.ie · VG.no · watchers.ie · world-today-news.com · wtxnews.com · zivim.gloria.hr

This summary has been updated 3 times: see revision history