Donegal Daily
  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Politics
  • Features
  • Donegal County Council News
Friday 19°CSaturday 16°C

Donegal Daily Donegal Daily

sponsor banner
sponsor banner
  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Politics
  • Features
  • Donegal County Council News
News

FATHER OF ERIN AND SHANNON ASKS FOR FORGIVENESS FROM TRAGIC SISTERS

written by Stephen Maguire February 17, 2013
FacebookTweetLinkedInPrint

The father of tragic Erin and Shannon Gallagher has revealed how he secretly attended his daughter’s funeral.

The late Erin and Shannon Gallagher

The late Erin and Shannon Gallagher

Tony Traynor split with the girls mum and stayed in his native Scotland before Lorraine Gallagher and her girls moved to Ballybofey.

Traynor, 37, who lives in Lanarkshire, says he came to Donegal when his youngest daughter Erin, 13, took her own life.

He revealed “I was told I could only go to the chapel after Erin’s service was over and I could only go to the cemetery after everyone had left.

“I wanted to say goodbye to my daughter but I didn’t want to cause any more upset to Lorraine and her family, so I stayed away. It broke my heart,” he said.

He said he did get a chance to see Shannon when he left his B&B and told her “It’s all right, darling, it’s all right.”

And Tony says he felt like he was punched in the stomach again when he was told his second daughter had also taken her life.

“To lose one daughter that way is horrific, but to lose a second was a night. I felt lost,” he said.

Since his daughters’ deaths, Tony says he has kicked all his bad habits including alcohol and drugs.

The former chef admits that he was never a good father to the girls but that is something he will have to live with forever.

He is now preparing to trek across the West Highland Way to raise funds for Childline in memory of his daughters.

During the hike he plans to erect a plaque to Erin and Shannon near a place known as Glencoe.

And he says that some day he would love to open a community centre in their name.

“I just want the girls to know that I loved them with all my heart, even if I wasn’t able to show it,” he said.

 

FATHER OF ERIN AND SHANNON ASKS FOR FORGIVENESS FROM TRAGIC SISTERS was last modified: February 17th, 2013 by Stephen Maguire
FacebookTweetLinkedInPrint

Tags:
BallybofeyErin GallagherScotlandshannon gallagherTony Traynor
Stephen Maguire

Stephen Maguire is the co-founder of Donegal Daily. He has worked as a reporter for almost 30 years starting locally with the Donegal Peoples Press before moving to the Mirror Group. He continues to contribute daily to national media outlets including the Irish Times, RTE, the Irish Independent, Irish Sun, Irish Mirror, Irish Star, the Daily Mail and the Examiner.

LEAVE A COMMENT

You may also like

Community tidy up planned for Killygordon-Crossroads tomorrow

12 minutes ago

PSNI attacked during fourth night of NI...

51 minutes ago

Popular Fintown Railway is back on the...

2 hours ago

National: Gardaí begin search for human remains...

2 hours ago

Grant of €50,000 secured for ‘Teen Zone’...

2 hours ago

“I Love Inishowen Day” to take place...

5 hours ago

Cloudy start but ‘long spells of sunshine’...

6 hours ago

Women lead the way in cross-border peace...

7 hours ago

Electricity points sought to help casual traders...

8 hours ago

Donegal parents forced into drastic measures over...

20 hours ago
Advertisement
Advertisement

Donegal County Council

Facebook
Donegal County Council
Advertisement
Advertisement
Donegal Daily Jobs

Read More

  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Sales & Services
  • Obituaries
  • Features
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Council News

Information

  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise WIth Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions

Our Sites

Donegal Woman
Donegal Woman
Donegal Daily

© 2025 Donegal Daily. All rights reserved.
Website by owenod


Back To Top.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy