Irish police “acted appropriately” during its pursuit of a car which crashed on the wrong side of the road in the Republic of Ireland last month, the police watchdog has found.

Five teenage boys died in the head-on collision on the M9 and four family members were seriously injured in the crash on 16 August.

The police ombudsman Fiosrú said Gardaí (Irish police) had been following the car on the N78 in Athy for a short period before it joined the M9 motorway against the direction of traffic.

Police Ombudsman Emily Logan said the force acted “in line with relevant policies and procedures as determined by the Garda Commissioner”.

The watchdog began its investigation into the incident after a mandatory referral from gardaí on 16 August 2026.

Their actions and decisions during interaction with the car were examined, including the nature and extent of garda contact prior to the collision.

The purpose of the investigation was to establish whether gardaí acted in accordance with the law and police policies and procedures.

The investigation found that on 16 August gardaí had pursued a BMW car after permission was granted by the Garda Control Room.

When the BMW entered the M9 dual carriageway the pursuit was terminated and the control room confirmed that it shouldn’t continue.

Other garda units attempted to place a stopping device at an appropriate location, however the BMW undertook a number of U-turns, before fatally colliding with an oncoming car.

The five boys in the BMW died and the four family members in the car it collided with were seriously injured.

Logan added that when “someone dies in incidents involving contact with gardaí, it is mandatory that the matter is referred by gardaí to Fiosrú to investigate”.

“Fiosrú’s investigation was independent of gardaí and aimed to understand events leading up to the collision.

“My thoughts are with family and friends and all those affected by this devastating incident, including the gardaí who attended the scene.”

The M9 incident is the sixth time a garda interaction with vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road has been reported between 2021 and 2026.