"Our hearts will never forget those that were taken from us" - Fr Duffy

Father John Joe Duffy told those gathered in Knock of how his faith helped to guide him as he arrived at the tragic scene which claimed the lives of ten people, in Creeslough on October 7, 2022.

Speaking as he led the National Novena at Knock Basilica, he recalled his disbelief and shock on arriving at the scene of the tragedy. Hundreds of people milled around him, dust flew, tin flapped, pieces of the building crashed to the ground but he found himself enshrouded in silence.  

His attention was drawn to the digger, lorry and tractor operators as they meticulously removed debris from the scene. He told those gathered in Knock that his first few moments of witnessing that scene will stay with him forever - images that flash through his mind daily. His initial reaction was to pray for the safety of those involved in the rescue. He also spoke to those who were injured and still present at the scene.

Watching those around him desperately trying to help, Father Duffy asked himself how he was going to be able to assist those who were suffering and those who had lost loved ones. A sense of trepidation crept over him momentarily, he recalled, as he became aware of his of his 'limited abilities' to help but then drew on his faith: “I asked Jesus to ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit down and asking Our Mother Mary Our Lady of Knock to help me and to wrap her mantle around all the people, asking Jesus to guide me - to light the path that I must travel in order to help our community. I particularly asked for the help of Our Mother Mary Our Lady of Knock who is very special to me as I have always felt guided and cared for by her. 

“I felt she was with us in Creeslough as she was in Knock standing silently with her people in a time of distress, giving hope pointing us to Jesus among us,” he said.

Father Duffy reached out to a few close friends whom he knew could help him and guide him: “I knew these were people who knew more than me, they had different talents, they were emotionally and physically detached from the situation and I knew they could guide and help me. The people I reached out to became my guide and refuge in one.”

Many will recall the news of the Creeslough tragedy breaking across the globe and Father Duffy’s first public response being to ask for prayer: “I only left the scene once to go to the church at 7.30pm to bless those who were there praying in adoration from 9am that day and I raised the Monstrance in benediction in the Church and held it towards the site of the explosion. People kneeling in prayer adoring God as others were making their way to God.

“My reasoning for the call to prayer via media, while it seemed the obvious thing to do, was so much needed. I simply knew we needed prayer as I was aware of the scale of loss, the scale of the tragedy was shocking, the time ahead was going to be extremely difficult,” he said.

“I was forewarning the world that the greatest possible tragedy had fallen upon us"

As Friday seeped into Saturday, Father John Joe recalls standing with a family: “The father said to me that a prayer might help and we prayed there in those very awful and anxious moments as that family had to wait all through the night and into the next day before their daughter was recovered.”

He said that his calling for prayer in support of the community of Creeslough and those from outside Creeslough was in preparation for the heartbreaking news that would follow that tragic night in Creeslough: “I was forewarning the world that the greatest possible tragedy had fallen upon us without actually specifying the scale, in order to gently deliver the news, in order not to overwhelm people, and to be respectful to families. At this point family and loved ones were standing outside the cordons not knowing if their loved ones were missing or in hospital.” 

The curate understood and was being exceptionally conscious of how words could help gently guide and prepare people for the scale of loss that had befallen the town and those affiliated with Creeslough in other parts of the world. He attempted to indicate the scale of the tragedy which lay ahead but the message which he was trying to relay was both challenging and difficult.

“At the same time, I wanted to shape or provide a tangible outreach centre to give focus and solace to families, to the people of our small community and beyond it for their inevitable sorrow and grief that would lie ahead of them,” he said. 

The level of media interest dictated that Father Duffy had to engage with reporters but at the same time the priest felt his heart lay in being with his people - the people of his community who were at their lowest ebb on that sorrowful, dark night. 

“All I wanted to do was to be there with and for people who had lost so much. I believed it was correct that the correct media message went out, that yes, we were a community going through our darkest hours and days and that we also needed our space to grieve and I believe, for the most part, journalists greatly respected that and showed empathy,” he said. 

“Our community that had its very heart ripped out in this terrible and awful tragedy"

October 7 was a day that ten beautiful souls left this world, left people injured, families bereaved, a community devastated by loss and people traumatised: “I believed my role in collaboration with my parishioners and community and with their help and that of friends was to be a presence of support and to focus people towards the shining light of Christ who would out of his compassion and care provide us with a pathway through which our community would follow. 

“Our community that had its very heart ripped out in this terrible and awful tragedy was going through what other small communities have experienced that were hit by tragedy in our country,” he said. 

Father Duffy kept the light and heat on in the Church during that dark time as he wanted the Church to be a place people were people could go into and be together and to have the Church building at the very heart of the community in grief: “In many ways the live streaming of Masses and services from the Church in hindsight probably assisted me in that regard.” 

A Mass was held on Saturday morning at 10am - a Mass which the curate cannot remember: “And from that Saturday night and right through the week we had Rosary in the church each night at 9pm which had a massive congregation and thousands of people joining us online with people also travelling from all over the country, it was attended by clergy and congregations from all Christian denominations, we were united in prayer and in Christ.” 

Amidst the darkness the light shone through

The priest wanted to provide a focal point for each person who died: “With the help of a friend, I was guided towards lighting a seven-day Sanctuary or Tabernacle red candle for each person who died and for their bereaved and I decided to light one white candle for all the injured which remained lit until the last person came home from hospital. 

“At the Vigil Mass on that Saturday evening, October 8, our Bishop Alan who was a pillar of support to me lit each candle individually as he remembered with us all who died, these candles were lit on the Altar for 7 days and nights until the following Saturday, they extinguished naturally on that evening, earlier in the day the last Funerals had taken place.”

Father Duffy told those gathered that even in the midst of darkness light shone through, the light of Christ lit a pathway through that week and has continued to so with the tremendously generous outpouring of support for their community from all over Ireland and around the world. The ten red candles became the symbol of the tragedy but for the priest, each of them was his parishioner and the other people he had come to know that day and night through their families. 

“The Red Sanctuary Candle was symbolic of Christ among us, the light of Christ shining out in the darkness of despair and guiding us on a pathway through this awful tragedy. The presence of Christ, among his people in our midst, a light that darkness could not overpower,” he said.  

Comfort in prayer

Support came from everywhere to those impacted by the Creeslough tragedy: “The silence in those hours and days worried me greatly, the grief and forlornness in the eyes of growing men and women and the young people worried me. I knew professional services would arrive eventually in the days and weeks ahead but I felt that I had to keep things simple, strike a chord and keep people together,” he said. 

He was also aware that like in so many rural communities people may not avail of the professional services.

“The Rosary each night was an opportunity for people including those in the explosion, those injured, the bereaved, those who assisted and the community to get talking and the Church generally became the focal point both day and night. Our church was the centre of pastoral response, it was the bulwark of the community, it was a living church,” he said.  

He said that his most comforting moments were when he and both Bishop Alan McGuckian and Archbishop Eamonn Martin prayed with young people and again when he and Bishop McGuckian and Bishop Andrew Church of Ireland prayed with workmen and young people at the site. 

Before the first funeral took place, Father John Joe and a member of An Garda Síochána went to the site of the explosion and joined in prayer on Tuesday morning: “This strengthened me for the week that lay ahead and then we met a young boy on his way to school and I felt God was telling me that here is hope, that we must continue to hope and to do everything now for the bereaved and live for the living as I prayed for strength for the week of Funeral Masses that lay ahead to commend to God in Heaven the beautiful souls of those gone to God,”   

A tsunami of grief lifted by a tidal wave of prayer, love, support and solidarity"

The teachers and staff of local schools were fantastic and opened during those days to provide a place for children to be together: “The more the reality of Creeslough resonated with the wider community the more we in Creeslough drew strength from the wider community. Our tsunami of grief was lifted by a tidal wave of prayer, love, support and solidarity. No one can underestimate the support we garnered from the very first moments from the assistance, prayer, support and solidarity of the people of Ireland and the world."  

He commended the emergency services who came out in their droves to assist as well as those who came out voluntarily to help and also thanked all those who sent messages of support: “The comforting presence of clergy and messages of supports from clergy and those of other faiths and from those of goodwill, the warming and comforting presence of our President Michael D Higgins in his fatherly care for us and the support, who was so caring, kind and compassionate with the bereaved families. 

“Also, the comfort was received from the political leaders and their representatives and above all from the cards, letters and messages from the generosity of men, women and children writing from their own homes, schools and places of work, this is so much appreciated by us all. The prayers of Pope Francis and his sending of Rosaries to our community was a tremendous comfort and support. I felt the warmth, care and compassion of many from the media who were present in that week.” 

Clergy from different denominations were present on October 7, during that week and the weeks ahead: “Our Church is at its strongest when out among its community and people caring and united with others. Our church is best as a field hospital at the heart of its community as Pope Francis reminds us and our church is at its best when present for people, caring for people, when it realises that the Eucharist is its centre. 

“Our Lady is its guide and its people are its building blocks, not just the mortar that enables us to gather. Creeslough proves to the world that our Church is still our strongest bond, our home within our communities.”

He said that the church in Creeslough is a place of solace, peace and comfort to him as it is to those who came to pray during their darkest days. He said that those who will come after him will find the same comfort within the walls of Saint Michael. 

Knock was the first place that Father Duffy went to after the tragedy and he prayed the Rosary with Father Paddy Dunne and afterwards con-celebrated Mass with Fr Michael Mc Cullagh. 

"Our Spirit is strong"

He said that the people of Creeslough are surviving and becoming stronger: “Our hearts will never forget those that were taken from us but our spirit is strong and we are thankful to the Lord for making us stronger, for guiding us through the darkness to a better place on the pathway of life. 

“It is not the tragedies that we encounter in life that shape us: it is how we overcome these challenges and become stronger in faith and true to the image of God and how he intends us to live our lives … reaching out, loving our neighbour.” 

He said that the message of God is simple and it is as relevant today as it was when first delivered: “Let us reach out to others, care for others and reach beyond ourselves. The bereaved families and the injured prayed for each other, attended the wakes, funerals and months minds of others in so far as they could, in their own grief they reached out through presence, God who gives every possible encouragement; he supports us in every hardship, so that we are able to come to the support of others. Thank you and please continue to keep us in your prayers.”