8 teenagers in one car that crashed

[Fromhere1]

So they were driving the wrong way on a motorway and crashed in to a single driver. At 5.30am. Apparently the car was stolen. I'm seeing photos on tiktok and they look to be very young.

Where the hell are the parents in this?! I'm seeing tiktoks where the families of these 8 boys are asking for prayers, etc. I wonder if they feel any shame at all?! Or is that an emotion they are unfamiliar with.

I think these parents need to be held accountable in some way... My sympathy lies entirely with the driver of the other car.

@ParsleySageToiletDuckAndBinBags I think the thrill is that the cars swerve to avoid them….the rush is that they nearly die and they aren’t thinking of others.

teen boys get killed and injured doing stupid things all the time. Luckily not violent in the large. When you have a teenage boy who is “into” risky stuff the advice is to try and get them into more regulated risky activities like Surfing or mountain biking.

It's my first time reading this statement - my thoughts on it are that the word tragedy is a little misplaced....it was absolutely a tragedy for the innocent family but for the five boys wearing balaclavas, speeding, deliberately driving on the wrong side and evading the Guards I think 'tragedy' is not a fitting description.

Urging us all to be more responsible shouldn't have any place in this statement. It implies that this could sort of happen to any of us if we're not careful. The vast majority of Irish people will never, ever act in such a reckless way.

Fair enough to say they are concerned about the Social Media platforms but it would be a far more effective statement if they said they were concerned about why children as young as 15 are out in the middle of the night, speeding, wearing balaclavas and not following the rules of the road.

I think the fact that some of the kids were Travellers is just that...a fact.

I feel like that “all” is pointing out this is something happening right now and all the parties are not just travellers. they expanded on the statement in a radio internet.

Mr Collins said he shared people's anger concerning the circumstances of the crash.
"I can tell you that any Traveller I have spoken to are shocked, are saddened, are frustrated, are angry that such a senseless tragedy would take place. A very irresponsible, reckless decision to drive on the wrong side of the road," he said.

It’s not some traveller tradition to drive on the wrong side of the road. And I don’t think that the online abuse directed at all travellers is fair in the circumstances.

i mean we would find it ridiculous pointing the finger at the entire settled community or all polish people. Or have the expectation that a member of their community should apologise on their behalf.

God that is sad.

I find it hard to feel sorry for the boys because it was such a life threatening act and they have destroyed innocent people’s lives. But I did feel a pang when I read about one of the boys being in care: He likely had a shit life and ending up destroying himself and others. And there is something very sad about the whole thing.

I think it is hard to feel empathy generally in this situation because it scares all of us. We all go on the roads and this type of thing makes us all feel very unsafe.

I too thought about the boy in care @Gealach 😢
“The fickle finger of fate” and “there but for the grace of God ( or Allah or whatever you believe in.” came to my mind.
I’m also thinking of that wee 7 year old boy in hospital without his Mum being able to visit him.
I do so hope that family make a good recovery.

Or maybe they could be locked up for 18 months or so for criminal behaviour?

Looking at the information about the crash that happened in England it is just like it is not sinking in. It is widely reported what happened here and how many fatalities and still you have more teens doing the same over there a few days later. It is chilling it really is.
Still thinking of the poor family in hospital here and like a previous poster said the poor 7 year old kid not being able to be with his mammy. It breaks your heart when you think how utterly senseless all this is.

Looking at the recent coverage of the Traveller funerals I noticed that a lot of the mourners were young....they were pushing forward, grabbing at the coffin, holding their phones up, etc.

I'm Irish and there are fairly strict traditions and expectations around carrying coffins. You wouldn't dream of carrying beer whilst holding the coffin, pushing in to hold the coffin, pushing ahead of other people to keep up with the coffin, recording everything on your phone, chatting loudly, etc. If you tried anything like that an older family member would quickly put you right.

I noticed that there seemed to be a lot less older people at these recent Traveller funerals (than at a typical funeral I might attend) - I wondered where are the Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents (given the young age of these kids). A Google search showed me that an estimate 50% (!) of Travellers die before the age of 39. That is a shocking statistic in 2026....there are a combination of reasons including a much higher infant mortality rate, higher suicide rates, a failure to engage with support services, including medical appointments, etc.

I work in a school and know that there is a huge amount of help available to Travellers but they often refuse to engage. But had never thought about it in this way before. These kids all came from chaotic backgrounds...their families mourned them in the only way they know how but I really hope they (as a Community) can take the time to reflect on whether they are really the right thing by their young people.

I was out for a pub dinner last night. At the table next to us, there was a group of young lads, 16 or 17 years old. They were chatting and laughing, slagging each other off about girls, talking about matches and training, all drinking pints of ribena and they’d ordered dishes like chicken gougons & chips, chicken curry with chips, not rice, and one even asked for curry with no veg. They came to our table and politely asked if they could take the spare chairs. They were just normal, decent, young lads, the whole thing came across as very wholesome and I couldn’t help thinking of the contrast between them and the 5 teenagers killed.

Was in the car earlier and heard some of the paper review on Brendan O Connor. Don't know who it was but a panelist commented that the government should spend money on promoting the concept and encouraging Trad Dads instead of spending money dissing Trad Wives. Her point was many of these boys dont have a "good" father figure to model themselves on so go looking for attention and likes elsewhere. Thought it was a good point actually.

Edited spelling

I don’t think it’s just that they didn’t have a father figure in their lives, I think they had no parent figure.
I also listened to the review of the interview one of the mothers (of the Polish lad) gave to the Mail on Sunday where she pleaded with a judge to remand her son and he couldn’t because of the solicitors strike. Her son was in trouble a lot but there was never a solution. Jails too full, Oberstown also too full.. this is a state problem. They know they will get off.

@Fromhere1 are there strict Irish traditions? In recent years quite a number of young people have died (none that I know, but either from my area or neighbouring area or from the school). Recordings have happened at a number of those funerals which were all attended by people young and old and all came from respectable families. It wouldn't be something I would like personally but it is definitely happening outside of the travelling community.

I don’t think it is the lack of a father figure.
It is because they think they’re little gangsters. That lifestyle only has a few outcomes, prison or death with a lot violence and stress along the way.

I don’t mean just young traveller lads but a lot of young men across the board, violence breeds violence.

Tbf they wipe each other out with the violence, the horrendous thing is that the innocent get caught in the crossfires of the plastic gangster image.

DD has a group of lovely friends, they’re interested in board games and online gaming. I’m always worried sick when the go to the cinema or local restaurant, as they’re the type of teenagers that the feral teenagers will jump on for entertainment.

Maybe things are changing - but I've been to a lot of funerals and I've never seen anyone put their phone up to record proceedings. I'm not that old (early fifties) and I would be deeply unimpressed if I saw this....it seems disrespectful. As for then putting that recording on tiktok...I don't have any words..

This. Mine don't have a father figure in their lives but they have always had a very involved mother in me and they are the ones a pp was talking about the type to go sitting in a restaurant with pals for food at the weekend and the cinema or somewhere, certainly not out stealing cars and being antisocial. Whats in the dog comes out in the pup is a phrase I very much believe in.

It does happen but it is very disrespectful. Not tarring all travellers but they as a majority don't give too hoots and everything is always over the top and crass so doesn't surprise me. I know outside the travelling community it has happened at funerals too but thats just bad upbringing. My sons friend died some years back and the group of boys stood stock still as guard of honour for his coffin not a phone between them. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

”What’s in the dog comes out in the pup” I never heard that expression before @Rondayvu
It’s a good one.

‘Kicky cow, kicky calf’ is what my dad used to say!

@Rondayvu but that's exactly what Im saying. At the funerals Ive seen this being done at it wasn't people from bad backgrounds doing it, it was actually decent people. Wouldn't be for me either personally!

Yes, I don't think gentle parenting is common in the Traveller community..

'a panelist commented that the government should spend money on promoting the concept and encouraging Trad Dads instead of spending money dissing Trad Wives. Her point was many of these boys dont have a "good" father figure to model themselves on so go looking for attention and likes elsewhere'

• some boys would definitely benefit from an involved dad.

But was this the case for the Traveller boys here? And for Traveller boys more generally?

Arguably the problem among travellers is maybe not lack of fathers, and lack of tradition, so much as harmful traditions. Travellers are traditionally very anti divorce and expect men to be breadwinners and present. It's the traditions too many of the fathers (and mothers) pass down to Traveller kids which is the issue. Among them, lack of respect for settled society, education and the law.

If this is true then it is heartbreaking.

If we want to live in a civilised society then they has to be boundaries.

If, for whatever reason, the family cannot enforce these boundaries then the state needs to.

We can not have a generation that believes they are untouchable.

'If, for whatever reason, the family cannot enforce these boundaries then the state needs to.'

• this.

We can not have a generation that believes they are untouchable.

Unfortunately this is real in some areas. I work in a disadvantaged community and link a lot with local Garda and juvenile liaison officers. They work so hard to keep kids out of crime but the amount of grooming by drug gangs with young vulnerable kids is unreal, also the amount of work that goes into catching criminals particularly drug dealers only for them to walk out of court with very little more than a slap on the wrist posting all over tiktok how they beat the system completely emboldened, it is really hard and frustrating for local Gardai.

'Once upon a time we were a country with Christian morals taught at home and in school and yes there were failings but for the most part having something in law was enough as the citizens respected and lived by the laws of the country and the church.

Then somehow the narrative grew that christian church involvement at any level was a bad thing, it did nothing good ever for society, was holding us back and everything about it had to be cast off so we could live wonderful lives without it.'

• I'm not sure how much the secularisation of Irish society has to do with traveller behaviour like this though.

Travellers remain Roman Catholics to a high percentage.

https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2018/08/27/irish-traveller-community-keeps-faith-despite-hardships/

The problem seems more that they don't adhere to the Church's moral teachings, at least not some, even if worship is culturally important to them. Eg. They keep doing the huge graves with overbearing ornaments even though Catholicism urges modest graves and equality in death. Catholicism obviously doesn't preach crime or violence either.