Letterkenny collision survivor facing certain homelessness

A LETTERKENNY man, who survived a collision that killed his brother, and left himself with life-changing injuries, now faces certain homelessness if he undergoes an upcoming operation to remove pins from his leg.

For the past few months, Martin Gallagher has been living in a St Conal’s Hospital after a funding shortfall stalled vital accessibility works at his home on Charlie Daly Terrace in Ballymacool.

With his upcoming surgery set to make him ineligible to return to the facility, Martin now faces an impossible choice between vital medical treatment and having a place to live.

On St Patrick’s Day, Martin and his brother Anthony were struck by car just metres away from their home as they returned from a night out at a local pub.

Anthony, who worked as a council ‘lollipop’ man, succumbed to his injuries, while Martin was left with life-changing injuries which severely limit his mobility.

For the past three months, Martin has been living in St Conal’s Hospital, where he has been working hard to learn how to walk again.

And although he is now physically fit enough to leave the facility, he finds himself with nowhere to go as his home was deemed ‘unsafe’ to live in by an engineer from Donegal County Council.

Martin’s name has been placed on the social housing list on medical grounds, but when or where he will be housed is still unknown.

In the meantime, Martin’s family have been frantically searching for suitable short-term accommodation, but have so far been unsuccessful.

Already feeling like a burden, Martin was dealt a further blow last week when he received a letter complicating matters even more.

The letter notified him of an upcoming pre-op appointment in Letterkenny University Hospital, which is scheduled for November.

Now worried that Martin’s surgery will take place pre-Christmas, his cousin Sinead McCool expressed her concerns.

“After Martin goes through his operation, he will not need rehab again,” Ms McCool said.

“Once he is discharged from hospital, we don’t know where he is going.”

First highlighting Martin’s housing difficulties in the Donegal News one month ago, Ms McCool expressed her disappointment at the lack of progress.

“There were a lot of people who said ‘we are all behind you’ but nothing concrete or substantial came from any of it,” she said.

“I want people to know that nothing has improved since the last article one month ago.

“Martin is being pushed from pillar to post, not knowing what his future holds.”

If you, or someone you know, have suitable accommodation for Martin, Sinead can be contacted via the Donegal News.

Appropriate accommodation would include a ground floor apartment, flat or a bungalow, situated in Letterkenny.