The community of Clonmel is united in grief today after four young people died in a car crash on Leaving Cert results night.
A brother and a sister and their two friends died in the incident in Co Tipperary.
The three young women had received their Leaving Cert results earlier in the day and were on their way to meet friends for a planned celebration event.
The four victims have been named as Nicole Murphy, 18, from Ballypatrick; Zoey Coffey, 18, from Kilsheelan; Grace McSweeney, 18 and her 24-year-old brother Luke McSweeney, from Clonmel.
It is understood that the car, which had been travelling downhill, went out of control and overturned.
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It happened close to the entrance of Hillview Sports Club on Mountain Road. There was no other vehicle involved.
The young women attended two local secondary schools, while Mr McSweeney was a past pupil of another secondary school in the area.
The schools involved have put in place critical incident management plans. They will be offering support to the families of the victims, and their friends and schoolmates, in the coming days.
Michael O'Loughlin, principal of Presentation Secondary School in Clonmel, paid tribute to two former students, Grace and Zoey.
"No words can express our sorrow, our pain and our grief," he said.
"Zoey and Grace were two beautiful students, loved by everybody who met them and achieved such excellent results on Friday.
"Both girls were absolutely thrilled with the results and were looking forward to new exciting times ahead.
"Grace was a gentle and kind person. She was thoughtful, considerate, and hard working.
"Grace was a gifted gymnast and a dancer and a very good student who had a positive impact on everybody she encountered.
"Zoey's personality was warm and vibrant. She was funny, kind and really determined. Zoey was a diligent worker and was very popular with her peers and teachers, and was central to all aspects of school life in the Pres."
Anne McGrath, principal of Loreto Secondary School, said that former student Nicole had received "excellent" Leaving Certificate results yesterday.
She said she had been "looking forward with excitement to starting the next phase of her young life".
She added: "Yesterday's celebrations are now replaced by unbearable grief and a sense of loss for the whole local community.
"No words can express our sorrow, pain and grief.
"Nicole was a beautiful student, highly regarded by staff and students alike. During her time in Loreto, she developed into a young woman who was kind, gentle and witty, and she was a trusted and loyal friend."
Family liaison officers have been appointed to each of the families to provide support.
The road remained closed this afternoon pending a forensic examination of the scene, where locals have been laying flowers and where a number of young people have gathered.
In an update this afternoon, Garda Superintendent Kieran Ruane said "all four lives were lost at the scene" after the vehicle "struck a wall".
He described the scene as "very difficult", with emergency services working "in very adverse weather conditions". He hailed the professionalism shown by all first responders.
Supt Ruane said: "Our local communities in particular Clonmel, Kilsheelan and Ballypatrick are shocked and deeply saddened by these events.
"I want to assure our local communities that An Garda Síochána is here over the coming days, weeks and months to support our communities as we all come to terms with this tragedy.
"I have been in contact with the principals of the local secondary schools that the girls attended and supports are being put in place for the friends of all four deceased today and over the next few days."
Supt Ruane said "there were downpours" at the time of the incident and he said that will form part of the investigation to establish what happened. He said the first responders had noted that "there had been a significant downpour".
Supt Ruane said that what gardaí witnessed when they arrived at the crash was "a very difficult scene".
He also said the use of a drone in the area where the crash occurred was "disrespectful" to the young people who died and he urged people not to share any footage of the incident.
The bodies were removed from the scene to Tipperary University Hospital last night, where post-mortem examinations will be carried out in the coming days.
An incident room has been established at Clonmel Garda Station and a senior investigating officer has been appointed to lead the investigation into the crash.
A vigil will be held tomorrow evening for the four victims. It will take place at 6.30pm in the Denis Burke Park in Clonmel.
Fr Michael Toomey, Administrator of the parishes of Ardfinnan, Ballybacon and Grange, has urged locals to look out for one another in what will be "difficult days ahead for the entire community".
"Sometimes no words seem adequate when a tragedy like what occurred in Clonmel tonight happens," he said.
He added: "No words can give comfort at this time. My thoughts and prayers are with the families who suffered a terrible loss in this terrible accident.
"I also ask, as the gardaí have requested, that social media images not be circulated or rumours be put out there so as not to cause any further distress to these heartbroken families at this time.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the four young people who tragically lost their lives, to their families, and their friends, on what should have been one of the happiest nights of their lives."
Additional reporting Conor Kane, Samantha Libreri and PA
