Donegal crash victim 'always tried to see the good in people', funeral hears
Chris McNulty
Piercing cries punctured the stunned silence in Derry at the funeral of crash victim Caoimhin Porter-McLoone.
The 18-year-old from Moyola Avenue in Shantallow, who died alongside his friend Danuel Cullen (18) in a road traffic collision in Co Donegal, was remembered as someone who “always tried to see the good in people” and who was always ready to aid others.
Cullen's funeral Mass will take place in Derry on Sunday.
They were passengers in a car which was involved in a collision with a lorry at around 11.15pm on Tuesday on the R236 road in the village of St Johnston in east Donegal, while a third teenager, the driver of the car, was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
“Two young lives, two families, two communities now carrying a grief that feels unbearable,” Fr Michael McGavigan told mourners at Caoimhin’s funeral Mass in St Brigid’s Church, Carnhill.
A Manchester United hat and scarf sat at the altar alongside a photo of Caoimhin in the kit of his beloved team.
Some mourners were decked in Manchester United colours, while wreaths in Man United and Celtic colours adorned the hearse while students from St Brigid’s College, where the deceased is a past pupil, and Don Bosco's Football Club - the club he had played for - formed a guard of honour.
“Hearts are heavy, shocked and sore,” Fr McGavigan, The Three Patrons parish priest, said at the funeral Mass. Fr Declan McGeehan, PP of neighbouring Steelstown, concelebrated.
“It is difficult even to find the right words, because this kind of loss is that loss that leaves people stunned and breathless.
“The death has come suddenly and painfully, and it has left many hearts broken. There is disbelief, confusion, and a grief that feels too heavy for words. Today, we do not pretend otherwise.
“We come just as we are: stunned, grieving, and carrying love that now has nowhere to go.”
Caoimhin was laid to rest in the City Cemetery alongside his father, Darren McLoone, who died in December 2024.
He is survived by his mother Stephanie, siblings Chloe, Hunter, Shea, Darren and Ben and a wide family circle.
Fr McGavigan told mourners how heartbroken Stephanie spoke of “a good child, who never brought any bother, always smiling, always ready to wind up and carry on.”
He added: “He was affectionate and loving, never leaving the house without a kiss and a hug and an ‘I love you’. Those moments are priceless now. They are a gift that nothing can take away.
“Only 18 years of age, a life just beginning to open out. A young man who had taken time after the tragic death of his father Darren just over a year ago and who was now ready, ready to start work, ready to build something, ready to make his mark on the world.”
Fr McGavigan said that Caoimhin was known as “a kind-hearted, caring, handsome, funny young man” who was: “also a deep thinker, an old soul, wise beyond his years. He loved deep conversations. He was interested in philosophy and the bigger questions of life”.
Conversations in the home would range from conspiracy theories to whether there was other life in the universe.
“It’s a small detail, but it says something striking,” said Fr McGavigan, who told the congregation of Caoimhin’s love of music, “a mix that matched his personality” including Eminem, Fleetwood Mac and Ozzy Osbourne.
Fr McGaivigan said: “What shines through so clearly is not only the sadness of his death, but the goodness of his life. He had a way of thinking things through and talking things out, a way of seeing beyond the surface.”
The large crowd included scores of young people who Fr McGavigan urged: “Lean on family and lean on friends. Check in on one another. Sit together in silence, if that's all that you can do.”
Many leaned heavily on those next to them as Caoimhin’s remains were brought from the Church.
