Buncrana pier tragedy: Seaside town no stranger to tragedy

The horror that unfolded in the waters off Buncrana pier, in which five people died when a car slid into the sea, is the latest tragedy to rock a small seaside town that has had more than its share of heartache.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Mar 2016, 15:57 BST
Updated 21st Mar 2016, 16:19 BST
Phil Coulter, whose sister Cyd died in Buncrana more than 30 years agoPhil Coulter, whose sister Cyd died in Buncrana more than 30 years ago
Phil Coulter, whose sister Cyd died in Buncrana more than 30 years ago

More than 30 years ago musician Phil Coulter’s sister Cyd, a social worker, was killed along with a man she was attempting to counsel when he drove them both off the same Co Donegal pier.

In August 1998 the eyes of the world were on the Co Tyrone town of Omagh when a dissident republican bomb killed 29 people, but three of the victims, all young children, were from across the Irish border in Buncrana.

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Oran Doherty, eight, and 12-year-olds Sean McLoughlin and James Barker had been on a day trip to Omagh with a group of Spanish students who had been attending a summer programme in the Co Donegal town.

Two Spaniards, one leader and one student, were also killed in the bomb.

Six years ago the most devastating road crash in the history of the Irish state occurred on the outskirts of Buncrana.

Eight men were killed in the horrific collision in July 2010 when an overloaded Volkswagen Passat smashed into an oncoming car on the road between Clonmany and Buncrana.

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The driver of the Volkswagen, Shaun Kelly, survived but all seven of his passengers were killed.

Eamon McDaid, 22; Mark McLaughlin, 21; Paul Doherty, 19; Ciaran Sweeney, 19; Patrick PJ McLaughlin, 21; James McEleney, 23; and Damien McLaughlin, 21, all died.

The young men spent the hours before the crash watching the football World Cup final in Clonmany.

The driver of the other car – Hugh Friel, 66 – was also killed.

Kelly, of Hill Road, Ballymagan, Buncrana, was later found guilty of causing the deaths by dangerous driving.

Related topics:BuncranaSeasideOmagh