LAST UPDATE | 2 Aug 2023
THE FUNERAL DETAILS have been announced for the two teenage girls who died in the crash in Co Monaghan on Monday.
Kiea Mc Cann, 17, and Dlava Mohamed, 16, were fatally injured when the car in which they were travelling crashed on the N54 at Legnakelly on Monday as they were being driven to a Debs ball.
Both funerals are set to take place tomorrow.
Hundreds of people formed a guard of honour in Clones this evening for Dlava, after a similar gesture last night for Kiea.
Members of the community gathered in the town square as the hearse brought the body of Dlava, who had just completed her Junior Cert, to her family home.
The white coffin was then carried out of the family home and is expected to be brought back tomorrow morning ahead of a funeral service in Dublin.
Women stood at the door of the family home and sang a lament as those gathered along the town’s streets stood in silence.
Dlava’s funeral service will take place at 10am tomorrow at the Clonskeagh Mosque & Culture Centre in Dublin.
She will then be laid to rest at 3pm in Newcastle Muslim Cemetery Dublin.
There will be a coach leaving the Diamond Clones for Dlava’s family and friends at 6.45am for the funeral service in Dublin.
Kiea Mc Cann’s funeral procession will leave her family home at approximately 1.30pm tomorrow.
Her funeral Mass will take place at 2pm at the Sacred Heart Chapel in Clones.
She will then be laid to rest in Mount St Oliver’s Cemetery in Clones.
For those who cannot attend Kiea’s funeral Mass, you may view it live by a church stream here.
Three other people were in the vehicle at the time and were hospitalised with their injuries.
The driver of the vehicle, a 60-year-old man, remains in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
A female teenager (18) is in a critical but stable condition in Cavan General Hospital and a male teenager (18) is in the same hospital and continues to receive treatment for non-life threatening injuries.
In death notices posted online, their families said Kiea and Dlava were best friends who died alongside each other. Funeral arrangements for both girls have yet to be announced.
Last night, as Kiea’s remains were removed from a funeral home in Monaghan town and brought to Clones, hundreds of people from the local community stood on Monaghan Street and at the town square, The Diamond, as a mark of support for the family.
A cortege of motorbikes and cars followed the hearse carrying the white coffin as it moved slowly through the town, stopping briefly outside a home where it is understood relatives of Dlava live.
Some of those in the crowd wept and consoled each other as the hearse passed by.
The families of the victims are said to be “hugely devastated” and suffering from shock in the aftermath of the fatal crash.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, the principal of Largy College, Sharon Magennis, said it has been a “very, very difficult 36 hours” for the school and the entire Clones community.
She paid tribute to Kiea and Dlava, who she said had been “best friends since they had both come into the Clones community”.
“Both girls were absolutely part integral to our community and we’re just heartbroken at this time,” she said.
Magennis said that Dlava and her family arrived in Ireland in 2018 and spent eight months in Monasterevin before settling in Clones.
“Dlava was always smiling. She was a gorgeous soul. Loyal and bubbly. She was always very happy. She really had a goodness and she was just full of energy,” she said.
“She had just completed her junior cert and she was due to go into transition year with all that that brings in our school. Dlava will be a massive loss to our school community.”
Kiea had just completed her Leaving Cert Applied at the school, Magennis said. She was one of 11 children and she was predeceased by her brother, Jason.
“Kiea was pleasant and courteous. She had a great love of children and she hoped to go on to study childcare at third level and now that is a dream that will just not be realised.”
Magennis said after the school became aware of the crash on Monday night, they “very quickly” decided to open the school “so that the two coaches carrying the students back from the Debs would be able to come back to a familiar place and see familiar places”.
“Speaking to the students and parents that were there at that time, that was indeed the hardest five minutes of my career. It was just a scene of utter heartbreak and devastation,” she said.
Magennis said she spent time with both families and discussed the funeral arrangements with them, adding: “I know that we will be there, we will be there to support the families as best we can.
“The past 36 hours has definitely taken a toll on all of us and everyone in our community. We can’t find the words to speak about how we feel. The students can’t find the words to express the emotions of anger and hurt that they feel.
“Over the next while, we’ll continue to work together to support each other and I think that’s something that Irish people definitely do and we definitely saw that yesterday in the community.”
Magennis said the school has received a huge volume of cards and messages of support from across the country and she expressed thanks for that.
“We’ve a tough time ahead and it’s going to be a long journey and a long road. All I can say is that our focus will be on our students and providing the support, the help and just a listening ear and being there for our students in these dark days that lie ahead for us.”
The scene on the N54 Clones to Smithborough road at Legnakelly was closed in the 24 hours after the crash, but reopened on Tuesday evening following a forensic examination of the scene.
In a statement to the media last night, Superintendent Patrick O’Connell said the collision took place “when a single vehicle, which was carrying five people, left the roadway and collided with a tree”.
“This was a particularly traumatic incident for everyone involved and I wish to acknowledge and thank all of the first responders who worked closely together – particularly members of An Garda Siochana, members of the ambulance and fire service, the hospital staff, and indeed members of the public who stopped to render assistance,” he said.
“This tragedy continues to be extremely traumatic for our local community, particularly in the Clones and Monaghan area.
“We will continue to work closely with the teaching and management staff at Largy College to support the students and staff affected by this terrible tragedy.”
Superintendent Patrick O’Connell added that he and the families of the victims are “eternally grateful” to members of the public who stopped to give assistance at the scene of the crash.
With reporting by Hayley Halpin and Press Association
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