THE UNCLE of one of the seven young men killed in Sunday night’s crash in Co Donegal has said that neither he nor the families of the other victims blamed the driver of the car in which the seven were passengers.
The driver, Shaun Kelly (22), was the only survivor of the two-car crash which also claimed the life of Hugh Friel (66), from Dunaff in Clonmany, driver of the second car involved in the head-on collision.
Yesterday Cecil Doherty, whose nephew Paul Doherty, from Ardagh in Ballyliffen, was killed, said the group of friends regularly met up in Buncrana. Paul is to be buried tomorrow.
“He and his friends always met in Clonmany Square every Sunday night and drove mainly to Buncrana. It was their regular thing to do, and they always had a designated driver who did not drink,” said Cecil Doherty.
He said Shaun Kelly, who is fighting for his life in Letterkenny General Hospital, was the designated driver last Sunday.
“Those of us who have lost loved ones are praying for him and consoling his family, just as they are consoling us,” Mr Doherty added.
“There were rumours that the lads were at my 50th birthday party in Ballyliffen Lodge Hotel before the accident. That’s not true, but the parents of some of the victims were at the party, which was also held to celebrate the final of the World Cup.”
He said those celebrations came to an end shortly after 11pm when word started filtering through that there had been a bad crash on the Clonmany to Buncrana road.
“My nephew, Paul’s older brother Stephen, who was at the party with his parents Felix and Sally, volunteered to go and see what had happened. He is a Pioneer.
“When he came back to the hotel a short time later he told us that there had been a terrible crash down the road and we realised we probably knew many of the people hurt.
“The young boys killed were all decent, hard-working and responsible young men, and this parish and this county will be the less now that they’re gone – and the same applies to Hugh Friel who also died in the crash,” he said.