Fatal crash two decades ago occurred on same stretch of road where Monaghan teenagers were killed

The road where two teenage girls lost their lives in a crash on the way to a debs ball in Monaghan on Monday evening also claimed the life of a young local man 19 years ago in apparently very similar circumstances. Ashley McCluskey (20), Stonebridge, Clones, was killed when the car he was driving went off the road at the precise location Kiea McCann (17) and her best friend Dlava Mohamed (16) died.

The car Mr McCluskey was driving in September 2004 hit the same tree as the vehicle carrying the girls. A plaque erected on the tree in memory of Mr McCluskey was at the centre of the crash scene – on the Clones to Smithborough road at Legnakelly – examined by Garda forensic collision investigators after Monday’s double fatality crash.

The Irish Times understands some of the first responders at the scene on Monday evening, and who tried to save the dying girls, were also first to arrive at the scene of Mr McCluskey’s collision 19 years ago. The Garda inquiry in the deaths of the two girls while being driven to the Largy College, Clones, debs ball in Monaghan town, was continuing.

News of the identical fatal crash in 2004 emerges as the girls’ families were preparing for their funerals on Thursday. The remains of Dlava, whose family is originally from Syria, were brought back to her home on The Diamond, Clones, on Wednesday evening. She was due to be taken from the house at 6.45am on Thursday, to arrive at Clonskeagh Mosque and Culture Centre, south Dublin, at 10am for her funeral service, followed by burial at 3pm at Newcastle Muslim Cemetery.

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Her death notice described her as the “cherished and much loved daughter of Hohamed and Zenab Mohamed”. She would be “sadly missed” by her brothers Mostafa and Rashid and her sisters Lilov, Asmahan, Auin and Giham. Her older sister, Auin (18), was injured in the crash and remains in a critical but stable condition in Cavan General Hospital.

Their brother, Rashid, told The Irish Times the local community had been very supportive since the death of Dlava and Auin sustaining her injuries but it was a “confusing” time for his family. “This is my first time losing someone this close in my life. Everybody is speechless. They don’t know what to do or what to say... It’s hard to say anything, there’s a lot of memories.”

Kiea was waked on Wednesday at the McCann family home on Fitzpatrick Square in Clones. The 17 year old was due to be removed to Sacred Heart Chapel, Clones, for funeral Mass at 2pm on Thursday with burial to follow at Mount St Oliver’s Cemetery in the town.

Oisin Clerkin (18), who was Kiea’s date for the ball and was also in the car, has since been discharged from hospital. Anthony McGinn (60) from Newbliss, Co Monaghan, was driving the vehicle and remains in critical condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.

Confirmation Mr McCluskey died at the same location, and in the same circumstances, will likely lead to focus on the safety of the road at the crash scene. Monaghan County Council had on Wednesday night not replied to queries around whether safety measures were implemented on the road after Mr McCluskey was killed there 19 years ago.