Two cousins were today buried side by side as a village came to terms with the tragic loss of four young people.
Up to 1,000 mourners congregated at the parish church overlooking Threemilehouse, Co Monaghan, to pay their final respects to the victims of this weekend's horrific car crash.
Brian O'Neill, Gary McCormick, Ciaran Hagan and Dermot Thornton were killed in the early hours of Saturday morning when two vehicles collided less than a mile from the village.
A fifth man, 27-year-old John McQuillan, remains in critical condition fighting for his life.
At noon, Brian O'Neill was buried in St Mary's Church yard.
Less than three hours later, his two friends — first cousins Gary McCormick and Ciaran Hagan — were laid to rest opposite him in a double grave.
Dermot Thornton's funeral will be held tomorrow.
All three coffins arrived at the church draped in the flag of their local GAA club, Sean Mac Diarmada.
A guard of honour formed from friends on motorbikes also led the young cousins to the church.
Brian, 19, son of Brian and Eileen, lived in the Cabra housing estate and leaves behind his brother, Shane, and sister, Sinead.
Gary, 20, lived just doors away on the same estate and leaves his parents, Jannette and Eugene, sister, Aoife, and brothers, Christopher, Brian and Conor.
Ciaran, 20, from nearby Ballagh, has left parents, Kathleen and Paul, sisters Grainne and Michaela, and brother, Shane. Sisters Jannette and Kathleen are grieving their eldest sons.
Parish priest, Fr Joseph McCluskey, told the first congregation that the hardest thing he has ever done since his ordination was to visit the accident scene and give the four young men their last rites.
He said he was quite sure, when the five set out on their journey on Saturday morning, they never considered the grief and sorrow that would be felt by their families.
Meanwhile, in the latest road fatality, a front-seat passenger (25) was killed in a crash in Co Roscommon last night on the N5 between Charlestown and Ballaghaderreen at around 10.50pm.
The car apparently lost control on a bend at Doogra. The driver (20) was not seriously injured, and there were no other vehicles involved.
The man killed in yesterday morning's collision near Ballyduff, Co Kerry, was named last night as John Joe Shanahan (25), from Ballymaquinn, Abbeydorney, Co Kerry. A woman (20) injured in the collision remains in a critical condition in hospital.
A male pedestrian (32) was fatally injured when he was struck by a car on the N25 at Ballygoman, Barntown, Co Wexford, at about 9.45pm last Friday.
He has been named as Andrew Nickson of Trinity Street, Wexford.
A total of 304 people have been killed on the roads since January 1st, exceeding the target of 300 per annum by the end of this year, which was set by the Government in 2004 in its road safety plan.