The funerals of three women yesterday provided an insight into the scale of the loss suffered by the community in south Donegal and the many lives devastated by Friday's horrific three-vehicle crash on the N2 near Ardee, Co Louth.
Profound shock and grief at this terrible tragedy was all too apparent as large numbers of mourners gathered at the Church of St Joseph and St Conal in the village of Bruckless near Killybegs, first for the funeral Mass of mother and daughter Margaret McGonagle and Mairead Mundy and later for that of mother-of-four Rachel Battles.
Parish priest Fr James Sweeney said local people had come together over recent days to help the families directly affected by the awful crash and this was a reminder of the goodness, kindness and generosity of the rural community in south Donegal.
There is no doubt relatives of the three women will need every support in the days and weeks ahead.
Chief in many people's thoughts will be the children of Mairead Mundy and Rachel Battles who have lost their mothers at a young age.
In his short life, Mairead Mundy's 13-year-old son Caoimhin has not only lost his mother and grandmother but also his father Declan who sadly passed away in 2009.
Mrs Mundy had found happiness with husband Pauric, whom she married just a year ago, but now his hopes and plans for the future have been shattered along with those of the Battles family.
It is believed the families were in two cars which were heading home to Donegal after landing at Dublin Airport following a holiday in Turkey.
A 31-year-old man and Mrs Battles's six-year-old daughter were seriously injured in the collision.
While the cause of the crash is still being investigated, a local Sinn Féin councillor Noel Keenan has expressed concern over safety on the N2 which he described as a `death trap'.
It is important for the families of the three women that they discover how this collision happened and why the consequences were so catastrophic.
The authorities must also heed any safety lessons that arise from this horrendous tragedy.