Four young men died in the two-car collision outside the village of Threemilehouse. They were named last night as Ciaran Hagan (20), Dermot Thornton (21), Brian O'Neill (19) and Gary McCormick (20). A fifth man, 27year-old John McQuillan, remains in a critical condition. It is not clear which of the men was wearing the seatbelt.

The men had all been socialising in the village prior to the accident, which occurred at 2.15am yesterday morning. All five men had been due to attend a local wedding yesterday.

Four men were travelling in one car and one man was in another car when the vehicles collided head on at high speed.

The injured man was one of the four men in the same car. All five men had known each other for many years. Two of the men, together with the injured man, lived in the same housing estate in the village.

Gardai have appealed for witnesses, or anybody who saw the men before the accident, to contact them. They are looking to speak with anybody who was in the area between 1.30am and 2.30am. Local parish priest, Fr Joe McCluskey, said that the entire area was "devastated by the accident."