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Bishop shows his solidarity with grief-stricken community 13.07.10

by Linda McGrory

THE Bishop of Derry, Dr Seamus Hegarty, travelled to the Inishowen peninsula yesterday to 'show his solidarity' with the community following the single worst road accident in the history of the State.
Dr Hegarty visited the home of pensioner farmer, Hughie Friel, 66, Dunaff, Clonmany, who was one of the eight men killed in the horror two-car crash at Glasmullen, Drumfries between Buncrana and Clonmany, on Sunday night.
Mr Friel, an unmarried man and lifelong teetotaller, was driving home from weekly bingo in Buncrana, when his red Toyota Corolla car was involved in a collision with a black Volkswagen Passat carrying eight young men.
Gardai have appealed for witnesses to the accident and revealed that, just moments before the fatal collision, the Passat struck another car, a white Renault Megane with such force, it knocked the front right-hand wheel from the car. Gardai expect to interview the female driver of the Megane, who suffered only minor injuries and who will be crucial to the ongoing investigation.
The bishop's spokesman, Fr Michael Canny said Dr Hegarty intended visiting all the families of the victims, in Fahan, Burnfoot, Buncrana and Clonmany, in the coming days.
“When he heard about this horrific accident, the bishop simply wanted to go to the community and express his solidarity with them.

Picturesque Dunaff, Clonmany, where the late Hughie Friel lived.
“Like everyone else, he is just numb and cannot put into words the enormity of this tragedy. He hopes that the whole community with rally round the bereaved at this terrible time.
“The bishop plans to visit more of the victims' families tomorrow and in the days to come,“ added Fr Canny.
Dr Hegarty arrived in Clonmany around 2.30pm and chatted with a number of people in the local Centra supermarket and other shops in the village.
He travelled to Mr Friel's home where he spent about half and hour comforting the victim's siblings including three of his brothers, Tony, Denis and Paddy. Mr Friel also has brothers and sisters living in England and elsewhere in Ireland who are in the process of returning home.
Fr Canny, who grew up just yards from the Friel family home, described it as 'a very sad house' and said the deceased was “a lovely man“.
“Hughie was a lovely, down-to-earth man who was a teetotaller all his life. It is so sad to think he went out to play a game of bingo and never came home again.“
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