Tragic news from Inishowen: The mother of the young girl who died in yesterday’s road accident has also passed away.
The woman, in her 20s and believed to be from Carndonagh, died this evening at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Her six-year-old daughter tragically died at the scene of a two-vehicle collision in Glentogher, near Carndonagh, yesterday evening.
A Garda statement confirmed: “A female passenger of the car, aged six years, was fatally injured.”
The statement continued, “The driver of the car, a woman aged in her 20s, who was transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, has since passed away.”
The devastating collision involving a car and a van occurred on the outskirts of Carndonagh yesterday evening.
The incident took place in the townland of Glentogher, between Carndonagh and Quigley’s Point, shortly after 6:30 pm.
Emergency services responded quickly to the scene.
The six-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Three other occupants of the car were taken to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.
These deaths bring the total number of fatalities on Donegal roads this year to ten.
A female child, who was a rear passenger, is receiving treatment for non-life-threatening injuries at Altnagelvin Hospital.
A male front-seat passenger (30s) is also being treated at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry for non-life-threatening injuries.
It is believed all those involved are members of the same family.
Fr. Con McLaughlin, parish priest of Carndonagh, has expressed his deep sadness after visiting the family in hospital last night as medical staff worked to treat the injured.
Fr. McLaughlin described the scenes he witnessed in the Accident and Emergency unit of Altnagelvin Hospital as unforgettable.
He wasn’t present at the scene of the accident but went to the hospital to offer comfort and support.
He stated, “On hearing about the accident I went straight over to Altnagelvin Hospital and the scene (in accident and emergency) is something I will never forget.”
“In the community there is a shock and a disbelief. One can only imagine what the family are going through and I witnessed that pain in the hospital last night.”
“The scene in the hospital was just so, so sad. You had doctors and nurses running around trying to do their best to help these poor helpless people. It is something I will never, ever forget.”
“I just wanted to be a presence there for the family and I did not speak too much but I just wanted them to know that we are all there for them.”
Fr. McLaughlin noted that the people of Inishowen are, unfortunately, familiar with road tragedies.
He added, “Pain is no stranger to the people of Inishowen as there has been so, so many tragic deaths. I remember being present in Buncrana when there was a series of multiple deaths there between 2005 and 2008 and once again tragedy has struck our people and I’m quite sure it revives many painful memories for many people in Inishowen as indeed it does for me.”
“We can visualise how they must feel at this time and how the wider community feels and how people have suffered tragedies in the past as there have been so many in Inishowen.”
“I just cant words to express how people will feel today and how I personally feel too having been involved in some of them in the past.”
“People will rally but nonetheless we have one little child dead.”
Local Donegal County Councillor Joy Beard expressed the community’s shock and grief following the tragedy.
“The entire community is just numb and once again just lost for words. There are simply no words at this time.”
“Inishowen has known more than its fair share of tragedy on its roads over the years and it has happened again.”
“All we can do is to simply pray for this poor child and to pray that the other poor people involved make a recovery.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are also with the emergency services who attended the scene and who work under tremendous pressure but who always put others first in such difficult circumstances,” she said.
The scene remains closed as Gardai conduct a forensic examination to determine the cause of the collision.
Inspector Sean McDaid, Head of the Garda Traffic Corps in Donegal, based at Buncrana Garda Station, has appealed for witnesses.
He is asking any witnesses, especially those with camera footage (including dash-cam), to contact Buncrana Garda Station, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.
BREAKING: Heartache as mother of girl, 6, killed in Inishowen tragedy passes away was last modified: July 3rd, 2025 by
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