'You never think it will be your own family'

Tyrone GAA star Niall Devlin has spoken about the anguish of losing his brother Caolan in a car crash earlier this year.

Caolan Devlin died following a crash between a car and a lorry on the A5 in County Tyrone on 5 March.

The collision happened on the Curr Road, between Omagh and Ballygawley.

Fifty-seven people have died on the A5 since 2006, according to the Department for Infrastructure.

Speaking on the GAA Social podcast, 22-year-old Niall vividly recalled the night of the accident.

"The Tuesday night it happened I was talking to Caolan before training," Niall said.

"I stay an hour or two after training for food with a group of lads and I think it was Paddy the caretaker came in and said, 'boys whoever is going Omagh direction you need to take a detour as there has been a massive car accident and the whole road is closed off'.

"You're thinking 'not again, not another family', you're never thinking it would be your own."

Niall passed the collision on the way home from training and rang his dad.

"When I rang him, I knew there was something up, just by his voice, it was shaky and he said 'Niall you need to get home'.

"I didn't have a clue what was going on and that is when I heard my mummy crying in the background," he added.

"My dad said 'Caolan has been in an accident', but I was in denial, and I didn't put two and two together that I had just gone past the accident."

Niall knew something was wrong as soon as he arrived home.

"There were cars parked at our neighbours and I knew something wasn't right, but I still didn't think about what was to happen in front of my eyes," he explained.

"I got into the house and every single member of my family was there and I broke down and my dad said Caolan had passed."

"It is a night you will never forget; it will live forever in my memory. I got home at 9pm and next time I looked at the clock it was 5am. I went into Caolan's room and sat there distraught."

He revealed that the days which followed were a blur and some of the most difficult of his life.

"That night Caolan returned home, that was a tough night as that's when it really hit, I didn't get a wink of sleep.

"One of the hardest moments was the undertakers coming in and calling us in to see Caolan."

A week after Caolan's funeral, Niall starred in Tyrone's crucial win over Monaghan.

The victory meant the Red Hands preserved their Division One status as Monaghan were relegated.

Devlin admits the week leading up to the game was a rollercaoster of emotions, expressing his apprehension as he returned to training the Tuesday after Caolan was buried.

"I said to my dad, if I get a full week's training I want to play. Driving up the road to training, I had never been as scared driving, because of the road and seeing all that had happened."

He explained how the game in Healy Park was an emotional occasion, especially with the minute's silence involving the team and full backroom staff before the match.

"When I heard there was going to be one [a minute's silence] and everyone was going to be lined up, I thought that was a really nice touch and when we lined up it hit me, and I wanted that minute to be over," he conceded.

"The togetherness at the time for my family, they would be proud, and Caolan would be even prouder.

"The 70 minutes was tough, by the end of it I was wrecked. It was a special night, one I'll always remember, having my whole family on the pitch after, and credit to the Monaghan players who came up and offered their condolences."

Caolan was Niall's only sibling and whilst he confessed that they were not as close as they had been whilst growing up, his brother still kept in touch every day.

"We were really close growing up, as we got older, we probably weren't as close, but he was still my brother and I spoke to him every day," he said.

"He was very quiet, one of the best lads. He was always the first person to text before a game 'good luck' and after it 'well done' and hug you."

Devlin acknowledged that he and his family are still working through their grief, but the support of his extended family and friends has helped.

"We're coping not too bad now, we have a great family, we have people in our house calling every day which makes things easier, I have great friends and a great girlfriend," he said.

"I get my days, but the only way we are going to get through it is together, my family have been brilliant to us. We have a lot of cousins who feel a lot closer than cousins, they're like siblings."