Funerals of student crash victims
Saturday November 21 2009
Hundreds of mourners gathered today for the funerals of two of the four young girls killed in the horror car crash in Galway this week.
Families and friends of Marie Connealy (19), from Baile na nAbhann, came to Cill Treasa Church in Rossaveal, and those of Sarah Byrne (20), from Cordarra in Headford, came to St Mary's Church in Headford to say a last goodbye.
The other two girls, Sorcha Rose McLoughlin (21) from Mulgannon, Co Wexford, but originally from Achill, and Teresa Molloy (19) from Leitir Mor, Connemara, will take place tomorrow.
Sorcha's remains were brought from Wexford across country, arriving in Derreens, Achill, last night for a funeral Mass tomorrow at noon and burial at Glencoe cemetery.
Teresa's Mass, also at noon, will be held at the Church of Ban Tiarna Lourdes agus Naomh Colmcille in her native Leitir Mor and she will be buried in the local cemetery which overlooks her home.
Meanwhile, the fifth girl in the car, Michelle O'Donnell (21), is still fighting for her life at Dublin's Beaumont Hospital with her parents John and Nora by her side.
It is less than a month since all five friends travelled to Michelle's home on Inis Mor, the largest of the three Aran Islands, to celebrate Michelle's 21st birthday.
Teresa and Marie were inseparable friends who both played Gaelic football for Naomh Anna in Leitir Mor. They met the other three girls at UCG and the group lived together.
The five were due to attend college the day the died but when they drove to college around noon on Tuesday and could not find a parking space they decided on the spur of the moment to go on an impromptu shopping trip to Sligo to catch up with old friends.
The weather was atrocious on their return to Galway that night. Emergency workers said their Peugeot car appeared to have aquaplaned on a slope after a bend forcing it sideways onto the wrong side of the road and into the path of a truck.
A garda arriving on the scene recognised Teresa immediately as she used to babysit for his daughter.
hnews@herald.ie
- Clodagh Sheehy
