Final destination Donegal as Creeslough bids farewell to Danny McLaughlin

'This is my homeland, the place I was born in'.

It was fitting that the chorus of My Homeland and Destination Donegal filled the Bank Holiday Monday air in Creeslough as the late Danny McLaughlin was taken to his place of rest.

Danny passed away at the age of 71 on May 27 in Yonkers, New York, where he lived since 1983.

Creeslough was always home.

Be it through family and friends, a love of boxing and Gaelic football, or his patriotic feeling for his homeland, Danny never lost the connection.

Eugene Collum, a Falcarragh native who lived beside Danny in New York, told his Funeral Mass at St Michael's Church, Creeslough that Danny was “a proud Irishman, a proud Donegal man and a proud Creeslough man.

“Even though he was in the States for 40 years, nothing about Danny changed – especially his Donegal accent. We were talking about lads losing their accents one day and Danny said to me: “I can't water down who I am or change my accent. It is not mine to give away. If it was good enough for my people, it is good enough for me'. That was Danny.”

Throughout his years in New York, Danny was actively involved in Clann na Gael, an Irish Republican organisation in the Big Apple. There, he was an ardent supporter of the Republican cause and was said to have been proud of involvement in the cause of Irish reunification.

A celebration of his life took place in the Pelham Funeral Home on Thursday before his remains were repatriated to his native Creeslough.

The Irish tricolour draped Danny's casket on its final journey in New York, led by a lone piper. He was one of the main organisers in the 100^th anniversary of the 1916 Rising in New York in 2016 and carried the Bobby Sands banner every year in the St Patrick's Day parade.

Mr Collum said: “Loyalty, that was Danny McLaughlin. Loyalty to his family, his friends, his Church, his political leadership; loyalty to the struggle and the ideals of a United Ireland.

“He was a great friend to Ireland and he will be badly missed.”

A harp, representing Danny's love for his country, was among the symbol of his life that were brought by family members to rest alongside the white casket carrying his remains.

A pair of Doc Martens and photos of his family were also carried forward.

Danny was a talented sportsman in his youth. Having won an Ulster title in his days with the Dunfanaghy Boxing Club, Danny became something of a boxing aficionado.

He traipsed across the United States over the years to attend boxing events with Atlantic City his favoured destination.

“He was a fountain of knowledge on boxing,” Fr John Joe Duffy said.

The St Michael's GAA club was also close to his heart and a jersey rested before the altar. His niece, Orla McLaughlin, will be on the Donegal Under-14 squad that faces Offaly in the All-Ireland silver final on Saturday.

A candle, also to remember the late Martin McGuinness, Fr Duffy said, was carried forward.

Danny worked as a plasterer before spending time working in both Scotland and England. He left for New York in 1983 and worked most recently with the NYC Housing Authority before retiring in 2017.

Home was where his heart was and Fr Duffy mentioned how family and friends made the long journey “over the great pond” to bring Danny back “to the homeland he so loved and so fondly remembered. He enjoyed so much keeping up to date with home.”

Danny was remembered as a “man of faith” who loved his family. “The greatest moments in his life were when he was with his loved ones,” Fr Duffy said. “Grief is the price that we pay for love.”

Death is just a means to bring us from this mortal life, which is just a blink, to the realm that is eternity.”

Danny is survived by his loving wife Isabel, his daughter Mary Alvarez, his siblings Charlie McLaughlin, Michael (Sheila) McLaughlin, Kathleen McLaughlin, Finola (Raj) McLaughlin, Jethwa and Brendan (Theresa) McLaughlin as well as his sister in law Margaret McLaughlin.

He will be deeply missed by his uncle Donald McLaughlin; aunts Mary O'Keefe and Josie Gallagher; his nieces Ashling, Nichola, Laoisha, Sharon, Caroline, Michelle, Jenny and Orla; his nephews Emmet, Colm and Raymond; and godson Donal.

After his Funeral Mass, Danny McLaughlin was laid to rest in Doe Cemetery.