Two priests haveissued a plea to young people to respect the dangers on the roads as three Donegal friends were laid to rest following a head-on collision.
Steven McCafferty-McGrath (19), Kaylem O’Muirchaidh (19) and Teresa Robinson (20) all died when their cars collided on a remote road between Letterkenny and Drumkeen at 1am on Thursday morning.
The three were buried in separate funerals yesterday as hundreds of mourners heard how each had so much to live for.
Fr Eamonn Kelly and Fr Patrick Arkinson used the funerals to remind others about how fragile life was on the roads.
Ms Robinson, a mother of two, would have celebrated her 21st birthday at a party that had been planned by her family last Saturday, her funeral mass at St Patrick’s Church in Killygordon heard.
Chief celebrant Fr Arkinson said: “Driving is necessary in modern day society. Vehicles are positive when driven with care. If one drives at speed and has an accident, the consequences can be devastating, not just for one or two but for several families as well.”
He told those gathered that life was a “precious gift” from God and urged the congregation to thank God every day for it.
Speaking at the funeral of Steven McGrath-McCafferty at St Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny, Fr Kelly also pleaded with drivers to slow down on our roads.
“We are a fragile people. We cannot get beyond that reality. We are not as sturdy as we pretend,” said Fr Kelly.
“All of us use the roads and any of us can have an accident but if we move slower we have a much better chance of surviving and indeed of avoiding the crash altogether. Today I ask for an awareness of the dangers that using the roads hold.
“We all have a responsibility to make a difference.”
Fr Kelly said he believed “there will not be a collective change of attitude; that never happens.
“All I can hope for in these words at the brokenness of the Funeral Mass for another 18 year old is that someone will decide to slow down, that someone will decide to change their attitude, that someone will prevent an accident by being more aware of the danger on the roads and how we use then.”
Paying tribute to Steven, he said the young man had a lot of living to do but that all that changed in the “blink of an eye.”
The third funeral, that of Kaylem O’Muirchaidh, took place at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Glenfin. A large crowd heard the deceased described by those closest to him as being a wonderful friend with a great personality.