Wrong-way M9 crash survivor says she cannot believe it has happened again

Róisín Stakelum says recent M9 collision revived her trauma

Róisín Stakelum, seriously injured in a wrong-way motorway crash three years ago, said the M9 collision in Co Kildare last weekend "brought it all back" for her and that she "absolutely cannot believe that it has happened again." Speaking on RTÉ's Brendan O'Connor program, Stakelum said she had been unable to sleep properly since hearing about the crash and could not stop thinking about the girls and the boy in the other car. "I just can't believe it's happened again, and that I don't feel like there was anything really done to try to prevent something like this from happening again," she said.

The 2023 M8 collision that left one teenager dead

On 1 July 2023, Stakelum was driving to Dublin Airport for a holiday ahead of a planned emigration to Australia when, shortly before 1 a.m. on the M8 motorway, she was struck by a stolen car driven the wrong way down the motorway for over 6 km. Sixteen-year-old Johnny Foley of Spur Hill in Togher, Cork, died in the crash, two other teenage boys were seriously injured, and a teenage girl was less seriously injured. In 2024, the driver of the stolen car received a four-year detention order after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing Foley's death, three counts of dangerous driving causing serious harm, and an endangerment charge linked to other motorists who had to take evasive action. Recalling the incident, Stakelum said she "had no time to react" and remembered the headlights as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

Five teenagers killed in the M9 crash

Five teenagers died on Sunday when the car they were traveling in was driven the wrong way down the M9 in Co Kildare and struck another vehicle. Funerals were held on Friday for Joe Carthy, Alex McCarthy, and Kamil Pustkowski, while services for Jeremy O'Brien and Jack Kennedy are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. A child and three women from the same family, who were traveling to Dublin Airport for a holiday, remain in hospital with serious injuries.

Vigil held and policy questions reopened

A vigil in support of the family took place on Friday evening. The M9 crash has reopened debate over enforcement of dangerous driving, the regulation of social media content, and the provision of State care to children. Stakelum's account adds a survivor's voice to that discussion, with the funerals for the two remaining teenagers due in the next two days.