The bells of St Michael's Church in Creeslough rang in solemn memory of the ten people who lost their lives two years ago at 3.17pm this afternoon, the exact time of the tragedy that impacted the lives of many people in the northwest.
An explosion at a filling station in the Co Donegal town on 7 October 2022 claimed the lives of four men, three women and three children, ranging in age from five to 59.
The ten people who died were Robert Garwe, 50, and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe, Catherine O'Donnell, 39, and her son James Monaghan, 13, Jessica Gallagher, 24, Martin McGill, 49, James O'Flaherty, 48, Martina Martin, 49, Hugh 'Hughie' Kelly, 59, and Leona Harper, 14.
Creeslough parish priest Father John Joe Duffy invited everyone to join with them in remembering and praying for those that are bereaved and impacted by the tragedy.
Fr Duffy said: "Your unity with us can be done from your own homes on Monday at 3.17pm, by joining with us in silent prayer for those who tragically died, for their loved ones, for their families and for their friends and our wider communities.
"I also ask you to keep in prayer those who were injured in the Creeslough tragedy, those affected by it in any way, for those who lost their homes.
"The journey of healing will continue and we remain strong for one another," Fr Duffy added.
"Families will be remembering their departed loved ones in their own personal, private and family ways as they have been doing every day since the tragedy of two years ago.
"Our entire parish community will be remembering Shauna, James, Leona, Jessica, Catherine, James, Martina, Martin, Robert and Hughie, throughout this weekend as we do every day," he said.
The Creeslough Community Hub closed at 3pm this afternoon as a mark of respect and reopened at 3.30pm.
A prayer service took place this evening at St Michael's Church for those who died in the tragedy.
Last Saturday evening, Fr Duffy offered mass in memory of the ten people who lost their lives.
Almost two weeks ago, Phoenix Law, which acts for the majority of the families wrote to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee formally seeking a public inquiry as a meeting with the families.
Deserve answers
In a statement, Minister McEntee said the Creeslough families deserve to get answers to ensure such a tragedy never happens again.
The minister said: "We have to set a date, but I'm very conscious that it is two years, very conscious that there is still a garda investigation under way, so it's really important that that can be allowed to continue and to be completed. A file will be sent to the DPP. My understanding is in the very near future."
She said separate investigations were under way through the energy regulator and the Health and Safety Authority, adding that it was important that that work continues as well.
"These families deserve to be listened to, they deserve to be heard and above all they deserve to get the answers to really important questions, what happened, how can this have happened to their families and how can we ensure that this never happens again and that nobody has to go through what they're going through," Ms McEntee said.
She said she looked forward to meeting the families whilst respecting the process that is under way.
