Council back Creeslough explosion public inquiry call

The blast happened at a service station in the County Donegal village on 7 October 2022

Donegal County Council has passed a motion calling on the next Irish government to establish a public inquiry into the Creeslough explosion.

The motion calls on the next government to establish an independent statutory judicial public inquiry within its first 100 days, with open terms of reference.

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

The victims - four men, three women, two teenagers and a five-year-old girl - were from the village or surrounding areas.

The victims of the petrol station explosion

They 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.

Creeslough is a small village in the north-west of Ireland, about 15 miles (24km) from Letterkenny and 30 miles (48km) from the border with Northern Ireland.

It has a population of about 400 people.

Passed unanimously

Independent councillor Frank McBrearty's motion passed unanimously at Monday's full meeting of Donegal County Council.

Several bereaved family members and survivors of the blast were present in the council chamber.

An investigation by An Garda Síochána (Irish police service) into the fatal explosion is ongoing.

The investigation continues to be led by local gardaí in the Donegal Division, supported by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) and other agencies, including the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU).

Earlier this year, a number of bereaved family members and survivors called on the Irish government to set up a public inquiry, which would run concurrently to the ongoing police investigation, into the tragedy.

Some families calling on the Irish government to commission an independent investigation have also previously met Irish justice minister Helen McEntee, minister for agriculture Charlie McConalogue and minister for the environment Eamon Ryan.

A statement from ministers after that meeting said they had "communicated to those present the strong desire of government that families get the answers they need in relation to the loss of their loved ones in what was a national tragedy".

The ministers added: "While the ministers did not rule out a public inquiry it is important that the garda investigation, the HSA investigation and the CRU investigation complete their work."