One year on, Creeslough to remember the 10

Creeslough will fall silent on Saturday, one year on from a tragedy that claimed 10 lives in the Donegal village.

At 3:17pm on October 7 last year, an explosion ripped through the Applegreen complex.

Ten people, including three children, were killed. Rescue workers and volunteers worked through the night. A rescue operation became one of recovery as a grim reality took hold.

On Saturday, the first anniversary, a memorial service and commemoration will be held at the site of the blast at 3pm. Saturday evening’s vigil Mass in St Michael’s Church will be offered in memory of the ten and in thanks to all who responded by Fr John Joe Duffy, the local curate who became a public face of the tragedy in the days and weeks afterwards.

The N56 Road through Creeslough will be closed on Saturday 2.30-4pm and diversions will be in place. Hoarding along the site of the complex have been altered to facilitate the service and to allow for the placing of mementos.

“Our journey of recovery continues and we ask for your prayers in the days and weeks ahead,” Fr Duffy has said.

A year ago, ten red candles burned in the same church in honour of the ten victims.

Five-year-old Shauna Flanagan-Garwe and her father, Robert Garwe (50) lost their lives, as did Catherine O’Donnell (39) and her 13-year-old son, James Monaghan. Leona Harper, aged 14, and Jessica Gallagher (24) were killed along with shop assistant Martina Martin (49). James O’Flaherty (48), Martin McGill (49) and Hugh Kelly (59) were the other victims of the horrific explosion.

“A cruel tragedy befell us and robbed us of 10 beautiful souls”, Fr Duffy said in Knock recently

“Our hearts will never forget those that were taken from us.”

The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, attended funerals of eight of the ten having flown back from the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. President Higgins visited bereaved families late last year while tributes poured in from high-profile figures across the world.

Fr Duffy said; “We were in a tsunami of suffering and tragedy and it was extremely difficult for the whole community. But then a tidal wave of support came to the people of Creeslough from people all over the country and beyond who sat down and wrote letters and cards to the bereaved families, to Creeslough’s schools and to the parish, and who had masses offered and prayers said.  We felt we were being helped by people everywhere in their hearts and in their prayers.”

As night became day between October 7-8 last year, Creeslough was under a silence, punctured only by the sounds of a digger carefully pouring through the rubble. Haunting cries from family members of those killed filled parts of the morning air.

Digger driver Henry Gallagher, from Trentagh, later spoke of how the presence of family members of the unaccounted kept him working

"You just see a river of high-vis vests and I know that among that, there are families waiting on news," Gallagher said. “I would have stayed in that digger for ages after that just until I got the bodies out.”

St Johnston delivery driver Colin Kilpatrick was dropping off at a business premises across the N56 when the explosion occurred.

"I came running over and I heard this wee girl squealing, I'll never forget that,” he recalled. “She was just crying at the top of her lungs looking for her friend or sister.

“My first thought was just needing to get people away. We tried to help people, I started pulling people out with a few others. Some we could help out and some . . . well, some we couldn’t.”

Mr Kilpatrick was one of the chief organisers of a Trucking For Creeslough fundraiser that raised €117,000. Almost €700,000 was raised via a GoFundMe page set up by Australia-based Creeslough man Gerard McFadden. A total of €1.88 million was donated to the Irish Red Cross in the wake of the disaster.

Rubble from the site was kept Garda watch at a secure location close-by and teams of experts went through the debris to find clues as to the cause of the explosion.

Over 500 lines of enquiry were followed by Gardaí and almost 300 statements taken within weeks. Gardai went over a huge volume of CCTV, while Det Norske Veritas, a Norwegian company specialising in the investigation and testing of energy systems, were on site.

This week, a Garda spokesperson told Donegal Live that An Garda Síochána would not be commenting as the investigation remains ongoing.