THE funeral takes place this morning (Friday) in Derry of the young teenage mother and her baby who were killed in a tragic accident at Tullygay on Monday night.
It follows a horrific week of tragedy and loss on Donegal's roads.
Kerry Ann Meehan (16) and her three month old daughter Neisha will be buried following 10 am Requiem Mass in St Mary's Church, Creggan. They died instantly in a collision which occurred at 8.45pm on Monday, three kilometres from Letterkenny on the Glenties road.
The mother and baby were passengers in a Toyota Corolla car which struck a four-wheel drive jeep and trailer carrying a load of sheep on the Conwal road at Tullygay, near Newmills.
Christopher Hanlon (18), from Leitirmacaward, was seriously injured in the collision. He is in a critical but stable condition in Letterkenny General Hospital.
The driver of the jeep which was towing sheep trailer, Mr Alan Scott, from Kerrykeel, was also treated in hospital for his injuries. He was discharged from hospital on Thursday.
Kerry Ann had recently moved to live in Manorview, Letterkenny with her mother Anna. The family was originally from Rathmore in the Creggan area of Derry.
Superintendent Vincent O'Brien said the emergency services came upon an horrific scene on Monday and appealed to the public to reduce their speed and appealed for witnesses to the accident to come forward.
"It was an horrific scene and has been a bad week on the roads of Donegal. I would again appeal to motorists to slow down and reduce your speed by ten miles per hour."
"Driving conditions were very good at the time and we are at the very early stages of our investigation at the moment. Crash investigators and forensics have examined the scene and it will take a considerable amount of time to establish to the exact cause of the crash.
"I would like to take this opportunity to appeal for witnesses. Anybody who was travelling on the R250 from Letterkenny on Monday between 8.30pm and 9.45pm should contact Letterkenny Garda Station on 074 91 22222."
The recent deaths of a young mother, her child and a young rally spectator have hit the local community hard. It follows four deaths on Donegal roads in four days during a black weekend in May.
On Saturday last, 18-year-old Richard McGrath from Strabane was killed while crossing the road at Carnhill, near Ramelton during the Donegal International Rally. The rally was cancelled as a mark of respect.
More than 500 mourners turned attended the funeral mass in St Mary's Church Melmount on Wednesday.
He was laid to rest at Murlog Cemetery alongside his father Paddy Joe, who passed away just three years ago. The Donegal Mini Owners Club, paid tribute to the teenager, a rally fanatic, by displaying a number of cars outside the Church.
Strabane priest Fr Pat O'Hagan courted controversy this week when he called for the sport to be banned. However, the deceased's brother Kieran McGrath, offered his heartfelt sympathies to the Welsh rally driver involved. A devastated Kieran also made a plea to young rally enthusiasts to pay attention to the safety rules around motorsport which have been "put in place for a reason".
"If people would listen to the stewards and stay behind the cordons, then accidents like this wouldn't happen. There rules are there for a reason."
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