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06 Sept 2025

In pictures: Creeslough remembers explosion victims on first anniversary

A year on from its darkest hour, the people of Creeslough remembered the ten people of the 2022 explosion that tore the heart from the community

Click on the arrows to go through the photos by Joe Boland (North West Newspix)

Creeslough gathered on Saturday afternoon to remember the victims of one of the worst tragedies to befall County Donegal.

On the first anniversary of the Creeslough explosion, which claimed ten lives on October 7, 2022, hundreds of people converged at the site of the former Applegreen complex.

Ten names. Ten candles. Ten yellow roses.

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.

“The journey of recovery will continue for all of us for a long time to come,” said Fr John Joe Duffy.

“Unlike most journeys that we set out in life, in this journey of Creeslough, we know neither the length or duration of the road ahead. We know that we will travel it together, each of us linked together.

“This day is another step in the long journey ahead.”

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