Accidental death verdicts at Clonmel crash inquest

Nicole Murphy, Luke McSweeney, Grace McSweeney and Zoey Coffey were on their way to meet friends

An inquest into the deaths of four young people in a car crash in County Tipperary in August 2023 has recorded verdicts of accidental death.

Eighteen-year-olds Nicole Murphy and Zoey Coffey died in the crash, along with Grace McSweeney, 18, and her brother Luke McSweeney, 24, who was driving the car.

They were all pronounced dead at the scene.

The victims were on their way to meet friends to celebrate the Leaving Certificate exam results.

The car they were travelling in crashed into a wall in Clonmel shortly after 19:30 local time on 25 August 2023.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported the victims died as a result of severe cranio-cerebral trauma, consistent with being involved in a road crash. The coroner read out evidence from the post-mortem examinations at the inquest.

The coroner, Joseph Kelly, said the appropriate verdict in each case was one of accidental death.

Heavy rain

There was torrential rain before the incident, leading to a lot of water on the road, RTÉ reported.

In summing up the evidence, Mr Kelly said that the road was "very much like a flowing river" at the time of the collision, because of the "torrents" which had fallen on a "steep hill".

RTÉ reported that witnesses to the car being driven before the crash said they did not notice any excessive speed on the part of the driver.

However, the two back tyres of the car had tread depths below the legal limit of 1.6mm.

There were no eyewitnesses to the actual crash itself.

There was torrential rain before the incident, leading to wet conditions

Speed of car

Gardaí calculated that the car was being driven at speeds of 51km per hour (31.6 miles per hour) and 75km per hour (46/6 miles per hour) at different points on the hill.

The zone had a 50km per hour speed limit.

"For some unknown reason, it left the roadway and mounted a kerb and hit a wall, resulting in a horrific and tragic collision," the coroner said.

Toxicology tests found no evidence of any alcohol or drugs in the car driver's body.

'The prime of their lives'

In a statement read out by their solicitor Padraic Hayes in the coroner's court, the McSweeney family on behalf of all the families thanked all of the emergency services.

They also thanked the local community and the people of Ireland for their support in the aftermath of the crash.

RTÉ reported that Mr Kelly offered his sympathy to the families of the four victims.

"Luke, Grace, Nicole and Zoey were all in the prime of their lives and had so much to look forward to and dreams to fulfil," Mr Kelly said.

"As they set off on their journey that night, they could never have imagined the catastrophic and tragic outcome that awaited them."

Following the fatal crash last August, the leaders of Stormont parties in Northern Ireland offered their condolences to the victims and their families.