The funerals have taken place of three of the eight victims of Sunday night's two-car crash on Donegal's Inishowen Peninsula.
Crowds gathered this afternoon for the funeral of PJ McLaughlin (21) at St Mura’s Church in Fahan.
He was one of seven friends killed when the VW Passat in which they were passengers was involved in a collision with a Toyota Corolla driven by Hugh Friel (66), who also died in the crash.
Fr Neil McGoldrick told mourners the grief that had visited the community in the area since tragedy struck on Sunday was “heartrending”.
The 21-year-old was remembered as someone who enjoyed life to the full and enjoyed his football and “a little bit of a showman, a fancy dresser, stylish”.
However, he was a kind and thoughtful type who cherished his friends and would do anything for them. “Sadly, many of those pals are gone with him as well,” Fr McGoldrick said.
“One of the family members was telling me...that he wanted to be famous for something. When you think that his face appeared on the front page of probably every newspaper in this country, he was famous, but not for the right reasons.”
He offered condolences to PJ’s parents, Charlie and Kathleen, his younger brothers and sisters and his extended family.
PJ’s sisters Aoife and Deborah did the first readings while his brothers Charles and Odhran brought gifts to the altar which included an Illies Celtic football jersey, a framed photograph of a BMW and a trophy.
Members of Illies Celtic Football Club formed a guard of honour in tribute to their teammate PJ, who played as striker with the team. The Ballymacgroarty folk group provided the music for the funeral.
At the same church this morning, crowds gathered for the funeral of Mark McLaughlin (21). Fr Neil McGoldrick told mourners the men's deaths had sent a “shockwave” through the close community of the Inishowen Peninsula. “Someone described it as a tsunami rolling across Inishowen overwhelming us all,” he said.
“No words can adequately describe that harsh reality that left Mark’s family and so many other people feeling stunned and helpless," he said. “Eight deaths, seven young people all gone...The sight here on Monday evening, the sight of hearse after hearse, cortege after cortege ... to Fahan, to Buncrana, to Clonmany is a sight that we’ll never forget, so deeply, deeply distressing.”
He said that Mark had brought great brightness during his short life, describing him as “a tender sheep”, a very good son and a close brother, the golden boy at McDaid’s quarry company where he worked. He said he was “highly respected” young man who worked very hard, was dependable and anxious to learn.
“A quiet man but a quick sense of humour and quiet yes, but a young man who enjoyed life and who enjoyed being out with his friends, many of them sadly casualties in this tragedy," Fr McGoldrick said.
The crowds spilled out the door while scores more stood in the drizzling rain outside the church walls as the funeral took place inside. Amongst those carrying the coffin were Mr McLaughlin's father John and brother Damien, followed by his mother Roma.
Earlier, the funeral of Mr Friel, from Dunaff, Clonmany, took place in St Michael's Church in Urris.
Fr Fintan Diggin called for forgiveness and said Mr Friel was a good neighbour who would do anything for his friends. "I know that Hughie would not have wanted the circumstances surrounding his death to heap any more pain or suffering or grief on anybody,” Fr Diggin said.
He said if he were alive, Mr Friel would have hoped everybody could forgive and understand. “The family have in their own heartbreak and suffering been looking out for the other families affected," he said. “Members of Hughie’s family found it in their hearts to go to the families to sympathise with them, to offer the hand of friendship and to pray for them.”
Fr Diggin said his one distraction in life was bingo and he had won €65 in Buncrana on the night of his death. His black woollen hat, which he wore while farming, and bingo cards and pen were laid at the entrance to the church.
“Hughie Friel was a lovely, quiet, pleasant gentleman, a great neighbour who will be sorely missed by this community.”
The site of the crash, the worst on Irish roads since records began nearly 50 years ago, is just hundreds of metres from the home of James McEleney, who will be buried on Friday morning in St Mary’s in Clonmany. PJ McLaughlin will be buried in Fahan this afternoon.
Tomorrow, four more funerals will be held. Ceremonies for Damien McLaughlin and Eamonn McDaid will take place at St Mary’s Church in Cockhill, while the funerals of Ciaran Sweeney and Paul Doherty will be held at St Mary’s Church in Clonmany.
Examinations of the scene continued for most of the day yesterday as investigators tried to establish the cause of the crash. The road was reopened to the public late yesterday evening after family members visited the scene.
Supt Kevin English of Buncrana gardaí said that, due to the complexity of this crash, it could be weeks before forensic tests are completed.
Shaun Kelly, the driver of the VW Passat, remains in a serious but stable condition in Letterkenny hospital.