Creeslough explosion families say they want answers

Áine Flanagan's partner Robert Garwe and their daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe were killed in the explosion

A woman who lost her partner and five-year-old daughter in an explosion in Creeslough nearly two years ago has said the families of those killed still have no answers.

The blast, which killed 10 people, happened at a service station in the County Donegal village on 7 October 2022.

Áine Flanagan, whose partner Robert Garwe and daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe were killed, said she wanted justice for her loved ones.

Earlier this week, seven of the families affected wrote to the Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee seeking a public inquiry into the explosion.

"All we want is justice for Bob and Shauna, for the 10," added Ms Flanagan.

"I want answers, I just want the truth."

A gas explosion was initially suspected, but there still has not been an official explanation for the blast.

The explosion resulted in the highest number of casualties in a single incident in the county in decades.

Those who died were Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe; Catherine O'Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan; Jessica Gallagher; Martin McGill; James O'Flaherty; Martina Martin; Hugh Kelly; and 14-year-old Leona Harper.

Some of the families who have called on the Irish government for a public inquiry into the explosion

Áine Flanagan said that she will never forget that day.

"I was mopping the kitchen floor while Robert and Shauna were walking to the shop," she said.

"Shauna didn't want me to go because they were getting me a birthday cake.

"I then just heard a bang, I collapsed to my knees, screaming because I just knew they were gone. Maybe that's mother's intuition, I don't know.

"Then it was just the sound of diggers, helicopters above, just chaos really and I couldn't move.

"We had to wait several days later until Bob [Robert] and Shauna were retrieved from the building, but when they were found, Bob had his arms wrapped around Shauna, he was protecting his daughter - it's devastating."

Áine Flanagan says her husband's body was found in the rubble of the explosion sheltering his daughter

Ann Marie Boyle lost her sister Catherine O'Donnell, 39, and her nephew James Monaghan, Catherine's son, who was aged 13, in the explosion.

Ms Boyle said she still finds it incredibly difficult to speak of that day.

"Every so often it just hits you, you just remember that they're no longer here," she said.

"Two people that were in your life, people you spoke to every day and they're just wiped out, just gone."

Ms Boyle said their family, like many others, want answers.

"It's nearly two years now and we expect answers," she said.

"We want to know why it happened? It should never have happened."

Ann Marie Boyle lost her sister Catherine O'Donnell and her nephew James Monaghan, Catherine's son, in the explosion.

Hugh Harper's 14-year-old daughter, Leona Harper, was killed in the explosion while she was picking up an ice cream in the shop.

"We miss her something terrible," Leona's father said.

"She was a huge part of our family and as time goes on it doesn't get any easier, especially when there is no answers.

"We cannot move forward without answers.

"While we are stuck in limbo we cannot grieve properly without answers."

"We cannot grieve properly without answers," Leona Harper father, Hugh, says

Mr Harper said a public inquiry "would be very helpful to establish exactly what happened on the days and hours leading up to the 7 October".

He believes a public inquiry would be the best way forward for them as a family, as well as many other families, to get answers.

The blast, which killed 10 people, happened at a service station in the County Donegal village on 7 October 2022.

Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee confirmed earlier this week she had received the letter from the Creeslough families and was considering their request.

Gardaí (Irish police) said their criminal investigation led by their Donegal division was ongoing.

It is their intention to submit a file to the office of the director of public prosecutions.