Four young people have lost their lives following a single-car collision in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, last night.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described the deaths as "truly devastating and heartbreaking", while Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he is "deeply saddened" by the incident.
The crash happened at half past seven yesterday on the Mountain Road.
A man in his early 20s was driving the three teenage girls to a Leaving Cert results party at the time.
It's understood the car spun out of control and overturned, resulting in fatal injuries for each of the occupants.
The victims were removed from the scene and taken to hospital. A post-mortem examination will take place in the coming days.
Gardaí are urging the public not to post or share any images or videos of the crash site online.
Mountain Road remains closed as Garda Forensic Collision Investigators examine the scene.
Community "In Shock"
One of the teenage girls was a student at the Loretto school in the town, while the two others went to the Presentation school.
Both schools, as well as the High School in Clonmel where the young man was a past pupil, will remain open today to provide support.
Commenting on the tragic accident, Higher Education Minister Simon Harris says a day that should represent achievement, celebration & excitement was replaced by grief, shock and sadness.
School chaplain Fr. Michael Toomey was called to the scene last night.
"Last night was meant to be a nice,
great celebration for the leaving cert students.
That is the whole power taking the tragedy of it.
My thoughts and prayers, obviously with the family at this stage.
But can I also pay tribute to the emergency services?
I was here last night with the family when they arrived.
The emergency services had deal with a very, very serious incident.
What sadly there was a drone footage and some pictures were shown on social media.
So I'd asked people, particularly young people, please don't share images."
Education Minister Norma Foley says her department, alongside the National Educational Psychological Service, will provide essential support to staff and students.
