The three sisters seriously injured when a gang of joyriders ploughed head-on into them while driving the wrong way down a motorway have been through an ‘incredibly difficult and frightening time’, a friend said.

Niamh and Alma Kinsella, aged in their 30s, their younger sister Ella Hendricken, who is in her 20s, and a seven-year-old boy all remain in hospital following the crash on the M9 in Co Kildare on Sunday.

Nearly £200,000 has been raised for the family members to support them on the ‘long and challenging road ahead’.

Five teenagers in the other car, a high-powered BMW, all died in the collision.

Ella’s friend Bryan Curley set up a GoFundMe page for the family, saying in a message that it has been an ‘incredibly difficult and frightening time for Ella, Niamh, Alma and their family’.

‘They are facing a long and challenging road ahead, and right now, I ask that you keep them all in your thoughts and prayers,’ he added.

More than 8,000 donations have been made in less than 24 hours since it launched.

Niamh and Alma are understood to have been travelling in the front of the vehicle, while Ella and the child were in the back when the collision happened shortly before 3am on Sunday.

The four relatives were on their way from Carlow to Dublin Airport to attend a family wedding in the UK. 

Ella is understood to have been working as a social worker and Niamh is thought to be a PE teacher at a local school. 

The family was described by locals as ‘lovely’ and ‘quiet’.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was ‘shocked and saddened’ at the horrific crash, which he described as being the result of ‘an irresponsible and dangerous act’.

Mr Martin said such incidents are, in some cases, ‘being done for likes on social media’.

He said: ‘This is the second appalling crash we’ve seen on our roads in a matter of days as a result of the reckless driving of a car on the wrong side of the motorway, endangering the lives of innocent road users.’

He added: ‘My thoughts and prayers are with the family who have been injured.

‘I wish them a full recovery.

‘The lives of five teenagers have also been lost as a result.

‘Every death on our roads brings untold grief to families and communities.

‘There can be no tolerance for this reckless behaviour that we have seen on our roads recently.

‘It must stop.’

Mr Martin thanked emergency personnel who attended the ‘devastating scene’ and said he would be speaking to the Minister for Justice and to An Garda Síochána about the matter.

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan is considering a new criminal offence for those who drive the wrong way on a motorway, the Irish Independent reports.

The five teens were suspects in several car thefts and burglaries and often posted videos of themselves being chased by gardaí onto social media, with one clip showing the view in their rear mirror captioned ‘wrong way’.

A security source told the Daily Mail the teenagers were part of an increasing number of youths trying to ‘one up’ each other in dangerous videos posted to social media.

‘These young guys have been terrorising communities for weeks if not longer,’ they added.

‘They did not care if they were caught as they knew they were underage and that there was little the courts system could do with them.

‘It’s becoming a growing social media trend, and it’s been a nightmare for gardaí to police because they are often ordered to stand down from pursuits because of the danger that chasing these guys could put the public in.’

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