The people of Buncrana lined the streets yesterday as hearses brought home the bodies of the young people killed in Saturday morning's road crash, writes Tim O'Brien in Co Donegal.
The five lost their lives when they were in a two-car collision at Quigley's Point, near Muff on the Border. They were David Steele (22), Quigley's Point; Rochelle Peoples (21), Gavin Duffy (22), Charlene O'Connor (21) and Darren Quinn (21), all from the Buncrana area.
Within 24 hours of the tragedy, another accident in the Inishowen Peninsula involving a car with five young people resulted in the death of Brian Power, Creggan, Derry.
Earlier that day at four o'clock the coffins of cousins Gavin Duffy and Darren Quinn were the first of the five to leave Letterkenny General Hospital, amid emotional scenes involving family and neighbours.
They were followed by hearses containing the bodies of David Steele and Charlene O'Connor, who was due to graduate from the Letterkenny Institute of Technology this week.
As night fell the last slow- moving procession led by a Garda car and motorcycle outriders brought the hearse carrying the remains of Rochelle Peoples back to Buncrana. With the last procession was local curate Fr Con McLoughlin, who attended the scene of the accident and who had remained with the families throughout the day.
Just a few hours later he was to be out at the scene of another accident, as Brian Power died in an accident involving another five young people.
This accident took place at about 3am in Burnfoot Road, Muff, not far from Quigley's Point, scene of the earlier crash.
Fr McLoughlin said the community was stunned by the deaths. He recalled that just last year a series of accidents had claimed the lives of eight young people from the town, three of them Latvians. Fr McLoughlin said the enormity of what has happened to the people of Buncrana was difficult to imagine.
Referring to the five who were killed on Saturday morning, he said: "All these young people lived within a few miles of one another; they would have gone to school together, their parents would have been friends." Fr McLoughlin said he wouldn't speculate on why so many young people were killed, but in a close-knit community everyone would feel the loss of so many lives.
At 7.30pm Mass in St Mary's, Cockhill, on Saturday Fr Eddie McGuinness said some members of the congregation had been touched by these and other tragedies. "Too often this wee parish has over the years been touched again and again by tragedy of one kind or another. Many of you have been touched by it yourselves."
He invited the congregation to pray for those who had died and those around them, that they might find new hope.
Brian Farrell of the National Safety Council said yesterday the road deaths did not all take place late at night, and he appealed to people to take extra care when driving.