'Forever young and forever in our hearts': Tributes pour in for young men killed in Limerick crash

TRIBUTES have poured in for the two young men who lost their lives in a collision in Limerick. 

Darragh Dullea aged 20, from Clonakilty, Cork, and Cillian Kirwan, aged 19, from Piltown, Kilkenny, were killed in the single-car collision which occurred on Tuesday evening, on the N69 Limerick-Tralee road after the car collided with a wall.

The two young men were instantly killed on impact.

Darragh and Cillian were both second-year students at the Salesian Agricultural College in Pallaskenry, County Limerick, which is run in conjunction with the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS). 

Students from the college laid flowers near the scene of the collision, at Ballyengland, on Wednesday.

Since the tragic news broke, tributes have been pouring in.

Piltown AFC, a soccer club Cillian used to play for when he was younger, wrote in tribute: "There is a feeling of great sadness around the club today as the terrible news filtered through that Cillian Kirwan lost his life in a tragic accident overnight. Cillian joined the club when his family moved to the area. He made an immediate impact with the coaches and players. A very happy pleasant boy to coach with an abundance of talent and great commitment, such was the commitment he showed, he would cycle the six or seven kilometres from his house in Templeorum to the grounds in Kildalton Park in all sorts of weather in dark winter evenings when his mam was working night shifts. Like many boys his age he moved away from the sport when he finished school and began his next adventures in education and life."

They added: "Piltown AFC would like to offer their most heartfelt condolences to Cillian's family and friends, also to our own coaches and players that had a small but very happy part in Cillian's life. Cillian, you are now forever young and forever in our hearts, may you rest in peace."

"Cillian I have no words. You were an absolute gent out-and-out. I will never forget the times and the laughs we shared out gallivanting all day and then spending half the night on the Xboxs playing farming simulator, them were the days and I wouldn't change them for the world. Rest easy my friend," wrote a friend of the young man.

Principal of Salesian Agricultural College, Derek O'Donoghue, also paid tribute to the two students. 

"It's tragic and it's shocking. We're numb here in the college this morning and their fellow students are numb," said Mr O'Donoghue. "It's tragic, two young lives lost... It's hard putting words on it, to be quite honest."

Two other young men who were also in the car were taken to University Hospital Limerick (UHL) for treatment, for non-life threatening injuries. 

The bodies of the two deceased young men were removed to the mortuary at UHL, where a post-mortem will take place in due course.

The incident, occurred in the townland of Ballyengland Lower, outside Askeaton, on the Limerick to Tralee road. 

Gardaí, the National Ambulance Service as well as four units of the fire service responded, including two units from Foynes and two units from Rathkeale.

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them.

Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and who were travelling in the area at the time, are asked to make this footage available to gardaí. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Askeaton garda station 061 601630 or any garda station.