Online messages tell of heartbreak and devastation

“THIS has devastated our world. Ciarán, we will meet again.”

These were the words of a cousin of 19-year-old Ciarán Sweeney, who lost his life along with seven other people during Sunday night’s horrific Donegal car crash.

In a post on www.boards.ie, the heartbroken member of the social networking site who gave his name as Jack Graham confirmed that his relative was one of the passengers in the Passat vehicle in which seven died.

Amid messages offering condolences, theories and suspicions over how the worst car accident in Irish history took place, the cousin of the teenager brought a public voice to his family’s torment.

His message was clear: our loved one has died, our lives have fallen apart — please, finally take road safety on board.

“I am a cousin of one of the lads in the Passat and this has devastated our world,” he wrote.

“We are in a state of shock and disbelief at the horrific events of last night. Ciarán, we will meet again.”

The heartbreaking comment came as the country began to come to terms with the depth of the tragedy which has unfolded in rural Donegal.

One www.boards.ie member, Zero-nine, who contributed to a series of online memorial pages on the issue said the damage caused by the accident in his home town of Buncrana — where two of the victims, Eamon McDaid, 22, and Damian McLaughlin, 21, were from — will last generations.

“This is unspeakably sad. I’m from Buncrana and the mood here is unspeakable.

“I was out on the town last night as hearse after hearse passed through. Many were crying, some were hysterical. It’s a small town and everyone knows everyone,” he said.

Another blogger, who posted under the alias Sound Bite, was adamant that regardless of the details of the case, the fact horrific road accidents are continuing to occur in Ireland is something we are all responsible for, whether it is accepted or not.

“Fortunately for the vast majority of us, we were lucky enough that our mistakes did not have such tragic consequences.

“We shouldn’t blame young people for their actions, but ask ourselves why the hell we still haven’t gotten the message home.”