Kiea McCann, 17, and Dlava Mohamed, 16, were killed in a tragic road crash in Co Monaghan on Monday night, July 31. Three others were seriously injured in the collision outside of Clones while en route to their Debs, the end-of-school debutant ball.

An Garda Síochána said late on Monday night that they were at the scene of a fatal road traffic collision that occurred at approximately 6:45 pm on Monday, July 31, on the N54 in Legnakelly (Clones to Smithborough Road), Co Monaghan.

One vehicle was at the scene, Gardaí said Monday night.

A 16-year-old female and a 17-year-old female, who were passengers in the car, were fatally injured during the collision. Their bodies were removed from the scene to Monaghan General Hospital.

In an update on Tuesday, An Garda Síochána said post-mortems have been completed on the bodies of the two deceased persons. The results are not being released for operational purposes.

The 60-year-old male, the driver of the car, remains a critical condition in Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.

An 18-year-old female remains in Cavan General Hospital in a critical but stable condition.

An 18-year-old male continues to receive treatment in Cavan General Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Gardaí in Monaghan continue to appeal to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them.

Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were traveling on the N54 between Clones and Smithborough yesterday evening, Monday 31st July 2023, between 6:15 pm and 7:00 pm are asked to make this footage available to Gardaí.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Monaghan Garda Station at 047 77200, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.

The two teens killed in the tragic accident have been named locally as Kiea McCann, 17, and Dlava Mohamed, 16.

McCann and Mohamed, as well as the two other teens who were injured, had attended Largey College in Clones and were en route to their Debs when the tragedy occurred.

McCann's father Frankie told the Irish Independent: "There was great excitement here in the house before they went out.

"We had food and champagne and balloons, and it was going to be a great night."

McCann's mother Teresa said her daughter, the fifth of ten children in the family, was bubbly, intelligent, and good-natured and had planned to study childcare in September. 

“It will be hard on all the young people. Hard on all the friends," Teresa said, who added that her daughter and Mohamed had been best friends for years.

Mohamed's family, who had arrived from Syria some years ago, are being comforted by friends and family in Clones.

Largy College, where the teens had attended, said the community is in "deep shock."

In a statement, Sharon Magennis, Principal of Largy College, said: “It is with profound sadness and grief that we have learned about the devastating accident that resulted in the untimely and tragic loss of two cherished members of our school community.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends who have tragically lost loved ones. The other individuals involved in the accident also remain in our thoughts and prayers at this time.

“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the emergency services and Gardaí who responded swiftly to the incident.

“Our priority now is the wellbeing and welfare of the students, parents and staff at this difficult time. The Largy College Critical Incident Team has met to coordinate a response and to enact the Critical Incident Plan.

“We are grateful to the public for their deeply felt expression of support and ask that we be given the time and space to concentrate on supporting those in the school community who are most in need.”

Organizers canceled Monday night's Debs ball in the wake of the tragedy and the school remained open late through Monday night as students returned from the canceled event, the Irish Independent reports.

The youth center in Clones is providing support and Largy College, along with Cavan-Monaghan Education and Training Board, will be providing support to students over the coming days and weeks.

Minister for Social Protection and TD for Cavan-Monaghan Heather Humphreys, spoke to RTE's Morning Ireland about this "unimaginable tragedy" and how "the entire community in Clones, Killeevan, and the Smithborough area has just been numbed by this."

She said, "It should have been a night of celebration and a kind of coming of age for these young people and it has just turned into their families' worst possible nightmare."

"None of us ever know what's around the corner. And I know a lot of parents across the country will hear this news today, and I know that they're holding their children extra tight because it really is every parent's worst nightmare," Humphreys said.

A local priest, Father Peter Corrigan, was called by a student when the crash occurred. He attended the scene. 

He told the Independent "It was very tragic. The car was in the ditch and the injured had been taken away, but the two young girls that died were still there."

Fr Corrigan continued “The fire brigade and ambulances and gardaí were there. It wasn’t on a bend or anything. I think it was a straight enough stretch of road, but there had been intermittent heavy showers earlier. I don’t know what happened.”

“There is a sadness in the town. People are heartbroken. A time of celebration and happiness was turned to tragedy.”

The retired champion boxer, Barry McGuigan, a native of Clones tweeted "I want to reach out to the people of Clones and especially to the families of those tragic young girls RIP that lost their lives in that horrendous road traffic accident yesterday. We pray that those seriously injured will make a complete recovery."

Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan Matt Carthy tweeted "Horrendous, heart-wrenching news coming from Clones this evening. A moment of joy and celebration for these young people has turned into a lifetime of devastation for those who loved them. God help the families affected. The prayers of everyone in County Monaghan is with them."