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