It happened on the N7 Naas Road at Clondalkin at around 12.30am on Saturday morning.
The collision involved a car and a van on the westbound lanes of the dual carriageway.
A blue Peugeot 307 crashed into a white Mercedes van.
The Peugeot, with a '03 LH' registration, travelled along the Belgard Road before driving onto the N7 and colliding with the Mercedes van.
The collision happened on the outbound side of the carriageway, with the car on the wrong side of the road.
Gardaí say the car had come to their attention in Tallaght, shortly before the collision.
A referral has been made to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC).
The 17-year-old teenager was the driver and only person in the car.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
His body has since been removed to the mortuary at Tallaght Hospital.
The three people of the van - two men aged 45 and 36, and nine-year-old boy, were taken by ambulance to Tallaght Hospital.
Their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
Garda forensic collision investigators have examined the crash site and both vehicles involved.
The road has since fully re-opened to traffic.
