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You are > Home > An unspeakable tragedy in Donegal
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Wednesday, July 21, 2010
An unspeakable tragedy in Donegal
IT’S fair to say that for most people the awfulness of that unspeakable road tragedy in Donegal last week is only beginning to really sink in now, and that’s for people who had no connection whatsoever with the eight people who lost their lives on the Inishowen peninsula.
One can only imagine what the terrible heart-rendering grief the families and friends of the deceased must be going through.
What even makes this tragedy more ironic is the fact that the number of road fatalities in this country have been dropping steadily over the past ten years, however Donegal and this particular section of Donegal remains a notable exception.
Despite the fact that all types of driver awareness and safety programmes have been introduced right across the county, Donegal still remains an accident blackspot for young male drivers between the ages of 16 and 25.
For weeks and months to come, the Gardai and the Road Safety Authority will be piecing together exactly what happening on that fateful Sunday evening, but regardless of the outcome, it won’t take away from the cold reality that eight men, seven of them under 25 years, needlessly lost their lives. One of the few saving graces for those left behind is that they are from a very close net community who will now try to come to terms together with picking up the pieces and moving on with life in the best way possible.
Make no mistake, there will be many long dark days and nights ahead, events like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries will only serve to open the wound rather than heal it for the foreseeable future. It will take a huge amount of strength, especially for the parents and siblings of those who died to move on.
For the rest of the country and particularly for the bracket of young drivers between 16 and 25 years, this Donegal tragedy serves again as a reminder of how dangerous cars and indeed all types of motor vehicle are. They are not toys, they must be treated with respect because within the space of a few seconds, as has been proven in the recent past, people’s lives can be turned upside down.
I appeal, particularly to our younger male drivers to please, for God’s sake, slow down. It might seem like old-fashioned advice, but it’s the only advice and the best advice possible. You don’t need me to remind you that speed kills.
THIS Sunday, over 30,000 people will make their way to climb Ireland’s holy mountain Croagh Patrick for the annual pilgrimage. From early morning, regardless of the weather, a steady stream of young and old will begin to wind their way to the summit of the 2,510 foot mountain.
The Croagh Patrick pilgrimage has been a regular fixture on the last Sunday of July, what the locals call Garland Sunday for hundreds of years and despite what many would call the secularisation of this country, pilgrimages like this one continue to remind us that there is a huge desire and thirst out there for something bigger than ourselves.
To be fair, most people take all the necessary precautions when making the climb, but despite all the warnings and advice, there are still a small percentage who treat the event as a bit of craic at best or some kind of a playground at worst, without any due consideration for their own safety or the safety of those who are genuinely making the pilgrimage.
This year again, hundreds of Gardai and ambulance personnel as well as volunteers from Mayo Mountain Rescue, the Order of Malta and various other organisations will give of their time and expertise to ensure that the day will be a safe one for all those who intend to climb.
Please take heed of their advice and recommendations, ensure to bring sensible and warm clothing and a drink, don’t leave any rubbish on the mountain top or around the vicinity of the mountain and leave yourself plenty of time both for the ascent and descent.
There are several masses on the summit from early morning and confessions will also be heard throughout most of the day. So it’s all down now to the weather and all we can do is keep our fingers crossed for a pleasant day.
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