The bonds of the bereaved families remain strong after tragedy, writes Ronan McGreevyin Buncrana
The Inishowen peninsula contains some of the most notorious roads in the State and the whole area has been scarred more than most by road deaths. Eighteen people died in the remote part of north Donegal in less than two years. But the deaths of five young people in a head-on collision brought many families together.
The bonds between the bereaved families was strong before the tragedy. Darren Quinn, David Steele and Gavin Duffy were plasterers who had trained together. Darren's cousin Gavin Duffy was going out with Charlene O'Connor. David Steele and Rochelle Peoples were also a couple.
They had all been to the Bailey nightclub in Redcastle outside Buncrana and Gavin Duffy had agreed to drive David Steele's tiny Peugeot 306 home. The first drop would have been for Charlene O'Connor, who lived up a quiet by-road near Quigley's Point, but about 2.30am, they were in a collision with a Mazda Premacy people carrier.
Rain and wind buffeted the Inishowen Gateway hotel in Buncrana yesterday as the relatives of the five young people gathered to highlight their grief.
Darren's father Paddy Quinn said the weather was like the day of the funerals nearly 2 1/2; years ago when the conditions mirrored the grief of a whole community.
Three of his sons were out in Buncrana on the night that Darren died. When he heard there was an accident, he went into town and met his eldest son Martin. He heard from a local taxi driver that there had been a bad accident at Quigley's Point he went up to investigate.
"I said to one of the men who was holding back the people from the accident that my son was in that accident and he said: 'I'm sorry to tell you, but your son is dead and there is four more along with him'.
"When I arrived first, I couldn't see the second car. I could see the people carrier in the middle of the road, but not the Peugeot. I asked them what car Darren was in and they pointed to a sheet that was about the size of a sheet for a bed, so you could imagine the size of the car.
"At that stage, I was relieved that their suffering was over because the car they were driving was driven back so far into the ditch.
"I sat there until the last person was put away and when I think back now I drove home when I shouldn't have driven home."