Three teenagers were killed in a car crash in Northern Ireland yesterday.
Mr Michael McManus (19), Stephen Haughey (17), and Mr Caomh McCarthy (19), all from Co Armagh, were killed when their car collided with a lorry on the main Belfast Road outside Newry, Co Down.
Mr McManus was preparing to go to university next month, having achieved the A-Level grades he needed for a place at Liverpool University to study accounting and finance.
Father Kevin Donaghy, principal of St Patrick's Grammar School in Armagh, where Mr McManus studied, said: "He had just been accepted into Liverpool after working very hard to achieve that goal.
"He was unassuming but everyone was delighted to see him get on to that course.
"Michael was studious and yet at the same time heavily involved in football both for the school and his local club."
Stephen Haughey had also attended St Patrick's. He left a year ago to begin work as an electrician.
Mr McManus and Stephen Haughey lived close by in Armagh city, while Mr McCarthy was from the village of Markethill, a few miles outside.
The three teenagers were in a silver Peugeot 306 travelling north when the crash happened early yesterday. Police and fire crews found them dead at the scene. Although the accident happened on a clear stretch of road, the route carries heavy cross-Border traffic.
Fire officer Mr Michael McAteer said: "It is very, very upsetting but our feelings pale into insignificance when we consider the feelings of the families, and indeed the local communities this morning who are waking up to discover that loved ones and friends are now dead."
Insp Ronnie Neill said: "What we are faced with here is a scene of utter devastation.
"We have a silver Peugeot 306 vehicle lying in the ditch and young people have lost their lives."
Earlier, a young girl died in hospital after being hit by a car in south Belfast. Heather Gallagher (14), was struck on the Ormeau Road last week. - (PA)