It was a Friday afternoon like any other until an unprecedented tragedy struck.
While the first anniversary of the explosion that claimed the lives of ten people in Creeslough, Co Donegal, is tomorrow, 7 October, it will always be a Friday afternoon for those who were affected by it.
A Friday afternoon when people were going about their usual business ahead of the weekend, buying treats after school or ordering a takeaway.
A year on, as the bereaved families and the community in the small village and beyond face into getting through the milestone of the first anniversary, there is no conclusion yet to the complex and far-reaching investigation into what caused the explosion.
At 3.17pm on that Friday afternoon, a blast ripped through Lafferty's Applegreen Service Station and the apartment complex attached.
Ten people were killed and several others injured.
Those who died were James O'Flaherty, 48, originally from Sydney, Australia but living in Dunfanaghy for some time; Jessica Gallagher, 24, a fashion graduate due to start a new job in Belfast; Martin McGill, 49, a big Celtic fan and a carer for his mother; 39 year old Catherine O’Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan, they had met at the shop after he got off the school bus.
Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe were there to buy a birthday cake for Shauna's mother; Hugh Kelly, 59, a local farmer; Martina Martin worked in the shop and 14-year-old Leona Harper from Letterkenny was there to buy sweets for a sleepover with a friend.
A ceremony will be held at the site of the tragedy tomorrow afternoon in memory of those who died with a minute's silence at the time of the explosion.
A mass will be celebrated later in the evening, which will be private to the bereaved families and the community.
It is suspected that the explosion was caused by gas but the full picture has yet to be determined.
The building, which was extensively damaged in the blast, still stands behind a hoarding.
On the day and into the night of 7 October 2022, as extraordinary efforts were made by emergency services and volunteers to rescue and recover those caught in the explosion, rubble from the building was removed in trailer-loads to a secure site as a major investigation was anticipated.
Damage had also been caused to a number of cars and windows in nearby homes were blown out.
Gardaí say that they continue to work diligently and as expeditiously as possible to ensure that all the circumstances of the fatal explosion are professionally investigated.
To this end, several units of the force are involved, including the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Garda Analysis Service and the Garda Technical Bureau.
The inquiry, coordinated from Milford Garda Station, is also being assisted by a number of other agencies, including the Health and Safety Authority, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and by a global company called Det Norske Veritas (DNV), which has expertise in the testing and certification of energy systems.
To date, more than 900 statements have been taken and more than 1,350 lines of inquiry actioned, according to gardaí.
There is no indication at this stage when the investigation will reach a conclusion, but the parents of one of the victims, Leona Harper, have said they have faith in the gardaí and what they are doing and believe that they "will get the answers that all the families deserve to get".
While garda liaison officers, who continue to support the bereaved families, say they have requested that their privacy be respected at this time, Donna and Hugh Harper decided to do a number of interviews in the hope that something positive would result from their dreadful loss.
The couple have released a song called 'Stolen Dreams' about their kind, outgoing, rugby-playing daughter, who wanted to be an art teacher.
Written by Donegal musician Matt McGranaghan in memory of Leona, they hope it will help raise funds for three charities close to their hearts, which were involved in the search and rescue operation in Creeslough; the Critical Emergency Medical Response charity; the Search and Rescue Dogs Association Northern Ireland and K9 Search and Rescue Northern Ireland.
Leona's body was the last to be recovered on the night, and Ms Harper recalled the dreadful, long wait but said that everything was done with dignity and respect.
Mr Harper said the involvement of the search and rescue dogs from Northern Ireland meant their wait was not as long as it could have been.
The couple, who have two sons, said Leona was the centre of their family and they wanted to thank everyone involved in Creeslough on the night, some of whom put their own lives at risk, for all that they did for her and for them.
They also thanked people from all over Ireland, including parents who had lost children, who wrote to them afterwards.
"It was very comforting," Ms Harper said.
For her, the song has been an amazing gift that will live on after she herself is gone, it will be Leona's legacy, she said and she will not be forgotten.
Mr Harper said that after a tragedy like this people could have a lot of time on their hands and quite easily consume themselves by asking what happened and why did it happen.
He said that they were very lucky as a family that they are able to talk and say to each other that this was not a healthy path to go down.
"There's plenty of people looking into that and we won't find answers," he said. "All you'd be doing is torturing yourself."
Mr Harper said that they are coming to terms with losing Leona.
He said: "One of the hardest things that two parents will ever have to do, lose a child, bury a child, and we're happy to let the proper investigating authorities deal with that.
"In time the answers will come. But it won't change anything."
