By Ruairi Scott Byrne
A mother and daughter who were killed in a two-vehicle road crash in Co Donegal earlier this week will be laid to rest on Monday. Natalie McLaughlin, who was aged in her 20s, and her six-year-old daughter Ella passed away following a collision between a car and a van on the R240 road at Glentogher near Carndonagh on Wednesday evening. Ella was pronounced dead at the scene while Natalie was rushed to Altnagelvin Hospital in Co Derry and later transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where she passed away on Thursday evening . Natalie was well-known in her native Carndonagh, where she worked as a nurse in a local doctor’s surgery. Tyrone Irwin, Natalie’s husband and Ella’s dad, remains in a serious condition at Altnagelvin Hospital but his injuries are not understood to be life-threatening. The couple’s other daughter , two-year-old Rhea Rose, was transferred from Altnagelvin to the Royal Victoria Hospital for specialist treatment. Her injuries are also not understood to be life-threatening. The driver of the van, a man in his late teens, was treated at the scene but his injuries are not understood to be serious, the Irish Mirror reports It has now been confirmed that Natalie and Ella will both be laid to rest in their hometown of Carndonagh on Monday afternoon. Mother and daughter will repose at the home of Natalie’s parents, Joanne and Danny McLaughlin, on Church Road, Carndonagh (F93 HY8V), where mourners are invited to pay their respects from 1pm to 9pm on Sunday. All other times are private please including the morning of the funeral, which will be held at Sacred Heart Church in Carndonagh at 12pm on Monday. The service will be followed by burial at the adjoining cemetery. In their death notice, Natalie and Ella are remembered as the “much loved mother and sister of Rhea-Rose and cherished daughter and granddaughter of Joanne and Danny and adored sister and niece of Lara, Tiarnan and Ryan. “Deeply regretted and sadly missed by their grandparents and great grandparents, Lynn and Anthony Noone and Margaret and Hugh McLaughlin, Natalie’s partner Tyrone, nieces and nephews, wider family circle, friends and neighbours. May Ella and Natalie Rest In Eternal Peace.” The school attended by Natalie and Ella have paid tribute to the tragic pair in a heartbreaking statement shared online. They both attended St Patrick’s Girls National School in Carndonagh. Little Ella was in senior infants while her loving mum was also a past pupil. The school issued a touching tribute to both Ella and Natalie in what they described as “an unimaginable tragedy.” The heartbreaking tribute said: “This is an unimaginable tragedy for their family, for our school, and for the entire community. “We are heartbroken, and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Ella and Natalie’s family – including Ella’s baby sister, Natalie’s partner, parents and siblings – and their many friends. Ella was a joyful and much-loved pupil in our school.” For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.