Sole survivor “stable and improving”

Sean Kelly, the sole survivor of last week’s horrific car crash which claimed the lives of seven of his friends and a pensioner, was “stable and improving” in hospital yesterday. The Ballyliffin man was the driver of the Volkswagen Passat which was involved in a collision with a Toyota Corolla car on the main Buncrana to Clonmany road at around 10.40pm on Sunday week last. Seven passengers in the Passat – Paul Doherty (19) and Ciaran Sweeney (19), both from Ballyliffin, Damien McLaughlin (21), Umricam, Buncrana, PJ McLaughlin (21), Tooban, Mark McLaughlin (21), Fahan, Eamon McDaid (22), Ballymagan, Buncrana and James McEleney (23), Clonmany – died in the accident. The driver of the Corolla, Hugh Friel (66), from Dunaff, Clonmany, was also killed. Local woman, Anne McGilloway, the driver of a silver Renault Megane believed to be involved in a collision with Mr. Kelly’s Passat shortly before the fatal crash, escaped with minor injuries. Mr. Kelly’s parents, Liam and Pauline, and other members of his family, have kept a vigil at his bedside in Letterkenny General Hospital since the crash – the worst in Irish history. A spokesperson for the Health Service Executive (HSE) yesterday said Mr. Kelly was “stable and improving.” Prayers for Mr. Kelly’s recovery were said at the funerals of the seven victims last week and at Masses throughout Inishowen at the weekend. Prayers were also said for the seven victims and their families, not only in the peninsula, but throughout the country and further afield. A special Mass, organised by Inishowen ex-pats, will be held in St. Anne’s Church in Boston this coming Sunday. Numerous silent tributes were held for the victims at the weekend. Patrons of Liberty’s Niteclub in Buncrana, where the young people involved in the collision, were believed heading, observed a minute’s silence in their memory. Silent tributes were also observed at sporting fixtures throughout Inishowen and prior to the throw-in of the Ulster Senior Football Final between Tyrone and Monaghan on Sunday afternoon last. Meanwhile, silent tributes will be observed at today’s meetings of the Inishowen Electoral Area Committee and Donegal County Council, tomorrow’s meeting of Buncrana Town Council at the official opening of Buncrana Musical Festival this Thursday evening.