Three men have died after the car they were travelling in hit a ditch and overturned in Stradbally, Co Laois, this morning.
A fourth man was also injured in the crash, which happened at around 1am.
The victims, aged 21, 27 and 35, were all from the Stradbally area, but gardai are withholding their names until all next of kin are informed.
In a separate accident, a garda in his 40s died after his unmarked patrol car was in collision with another vehicle on the Dundalk bypass in Co Louth last night.
The accident happened at around 7.30pm.
The driver of the second vehicle was taken to hospital and is expected to be questioned about the circumstances surrounding the crash later today.
The dead garda was part of a specialist team searching for arms in the Dundalk area.
The team had discovered a quantity of bomb-making equipment two miles south of the town earlier yesterday.