LAST UPDATE | 1 Mar 2025

TWO YOUNG MEN have died and two others are in a serious condition following a single-vehicle crash in Co Donegal last night.

The deceased victims have been named locally as Shaun McClafferty and Jamie Diver.

It is understood the late Mr McClafferty, who was in his teens, was the driver while Mr Diver, who was in his 20s, was a back-seat passenger. Gardaí have said post mortems will take place in due course.

Emergency services responded to the scene in Baltoney, Gortahork, Donegal last night. The crash occurred at around 9.30pm after a vehicle crashed into a gable wall of a home.

Two other male passengers, one in the front seat, aged in his 20s, and another in a rear seat, aged in his teens, were taken to Letterkenny University Hospital. Both are in a serious condition, gardaí said.

One of those young men has since been transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin for further treatment.

The deceased males have been removed from the scene and were taken to the mortuary of the same hospital, where post-mortem examinations will take place in due course. All four young men in the car are from the Cloughaneely area. They have been named locally.

A technical examination at the scene will be carried out today. Gardaí have closed the road and local diversions are in place.

Anyone who may have witnessed this incident have been asked to contact gardaí.

Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty said that “a cloud of sadness hangs over our community once again” in the wake of the news.

Donegal has had a spate of road deaths in recent times. In late November of last year, a confirmed total of 17 people had been killed on the county’s roads – up from 10 the year before.

Local Fianna Fáil TD, Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher, said the days ahead will be “difficult and painful” for the families involved.

“Donegal is under a dark and heavy cloud of loss and sadness with the news of the loss of two young lives in a tragic car accident in Gortahork,” Gallagher said, adding that the area’s thoughts and prayers are with the two deceased and the two injured men.

“The loss of life in road accidents is every parents dread and no words can give explanation to that nor will they ease the pain of loss due to this accident.

“As a people we will support you all with our prayers and thoughts in the days and weeks ahead. You are not alone; we all feel the loss of life of our young people and feel your sadness at this time.

“I wish to pay tribute the emergency services and all those that attended the scene last night in Gortahork,” he said.

Fr. Brian O’Fearraigh, who attended the scene of last night’s crash in which friends Shaun McClafferty and Jamie Diver perished, has paid tribute to the young men.

He gave the last rites to the two young friends at the scene.

He told how he was asked to call to the scene by local Gardai and described the scene that he met.

“It was just a devastating sense of silence and sadness,” he said.

“Here we had two young lads whose lives were full and all of a sudden they were cut short.

“It really is sometimes difficult to put it into words but what it once again brought home to me is how fragile life is.

“This kind of tragedy is not uncommon in Donegal but you never get used to it. Losing a child is not a natural thing for parents to go through and when it happens it is just devastating,” he added.

Fr O’Fearraigh said the local community will wrap its arms around the families of all those involved in the tragedy including those who lost loved ones.

“The one thing that can be guaranteed is that it will happen and that support will be there in the days, months and years ahead whenever it is needed.

“Words fall silent at a time of loss but a simple gesture or just being there for these families will reassure them that they are not and will not be alone at their time of need,” he added.

Fr O’Fearraigh also paid tribute to the emergency services who attended last night’s tragedy for their professionalism and empathy.

“I simply cannot speak highly enough of the Gardai, the ambulance service personnel and the fire service from both Gaoth Dobhair and Falcarragh.

“Sometimes we forget that these are just people too and the professionalism and empathy they showed last night was simply amazing and I want to thank each and every one of them,” he added.

Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in Baltoney between 9.00pm and 9.30pm last night are asked to make this footage available to investigating Gardaí.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Milford Garda Station on 074 916 7100, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.

Includes reporting by Emma Hickey