Michael O'Toole

Five teenagers—Jeremy O'Brien, Alex McCarthy, Joey Carthy, Jack Kennedy and Kamil Pustkowski—were killed when their BMW travelled the wrong way on the M9 in County Kildare and collided head-on with a Hyundai carrying a family of four who were travelling to Dublin Airport for a wedding in England. The family survivors include a seven-year-old boy with a broken leg and three adults, two of whom remain in critical condition. Gardaí now believe the BMW had been legitimately purchased, after initially suspecting it was stolen. The crash has prompted scrutiny of the decision not to pursue the vehicle, an investigation by the police ombudsman Fiosrú, and calls for improved pursuit training and stronger road-safety enforcement. Taoiseach Micheál Martin condemned the reckless driving and alleged use of dangerous driving for social-media attention.

Daniel Kinahan, extradited from Dubai to Ireland, appeared before Dublin’s Special Criminal Court on a charge of directing a criminal gang between October 2015 and April 2017. The 14-minute hearing proceeded without defence counsel, as Kinahan said he had not had time to arrange legal representation. The case was remanded to October 5, with a possible remote appearance, and any bail application must be made to Ireland’s High Court. Authorities have alleged that the Kinahan cartel is involved in large-scale drug and firearms trafficking and is linked to numerous murders.

An Irish Government operation to extradite alleged gangland figure Daniel Kinahan from Dubai has begun, with an Irish Air Corps Dassault Falcon 6X carrying Gardaí to the United Arab Emirates before his planned return to Ireland. Kinahan told podcaster James English that he was reflecting on his life and looking forward to returning home. Ireland’s Director of Public Prosecutions has ruled that he should face serious charges, understood to include directing a criminal organisation, an offence carrying a possible life sentence.

Three men in their 30s and 40s were hospitalised with serious but non-life-threatening injuries after a violent brawl on Shop Street in Tuam, County Galway, on 31 July 2026. Video reportedly shows men using a wheel brace and spraying a substance during the fight, while sources allege that acid and a machete were also involved. Gardaí arrested a man in his 40s and are seeking witnesses and camera or phone footage as they investigate amid reports of an escalating local feud.

Daniel Kinahan says he expects to spend life in prison and claims he is being scapegoated ahead of his imminent extradition from Dubai to Ireland. He is expected to face charges of directing a criminal gang, an offence that can carry a life sentence. In excerpts from an interview with podcaster James English, Kinahan alleged that Gardaí responded slowly to the 2016 Regency Hotel attack, questioned the official account of the Kinahan-Hutch feud and denied using boxing to launder money. The article also notes his links to the Kinahan crime cartel and the collapse of his ambitions in boxing after US sanctions targeted him and family members.