Buncrana town clerk Paul Doyle last night confirmed that one of the cars involved in Saturday's fatal crash in Co Donegal which claimed five lives, belonged to him.
Mr Doyle said the two men travelling in his maroon-coloured Audi were living rent-free as guests in his home. But he stressed neither had permission to drive his 1994 Cavan-registered car. He was being interviewed by gardaí last night.
"I didn't know the car was gone that night and had no idea it was being driven around the Buncrana area at 4am. Neither of the two had driving licences and neither had permission to drive my car.
"It was uncharacteristic of them to take it. I've no idea why they would have been driving up the Lisfannon road at that time," said Mr Doyle.
He said the first he learned about the tragedy was when the local priest Fr Con McLaughlin called to his door.
Mr Doyle has given a statement to local gardaí about his ownership of the vehicle and details about the accident victims' identities. He said he had no way of knowing which of the two was driving the vehicle which collided with a Volkswagen Vento at a bad bend at Beach Halt, Lisfannon, at 4.20am.
Five people died in the tragedy.
Mr Doyle said he had four Eastern European guests staying with him at his five-bedroom period home, including the fifth victim of the accident, Latvian Danielitis Abartis (23).
The second man in the vehicle, whom Mr Doyle confirmed is a 21-year-old Lithuanian man, was moved from intensive care yesterday, but is still being treated at Letterkenny General Hospital.
The remaining guests at his residence at The Crescent, Buncrana, are the sole survivor's brother aged 23, and another unrelated Lithuanian man, also aged 23. Only one of these had a full licence and was insured and permitted to drive the Audi, said Mr Doyle.
The Dublin-born civil servant, who has been the town clerk in Buncrana for more than 30 years and is in his mid-50s, said while two of his guests had stayed with him for the last eight months, the two involved in Saturday's crash were only living with him for four to five weeks. He said he offered accommodation to the guests after being approached by relatives. "I've a big five-bedroom house. I said I'd put them up until they got sorted because they can't get State benefits for two years."