A mother whose 14-year-old daughter was one of ten people who lost their lives in the Creeslough explosion three years ago has renewed calls for a meeting with Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan.
Donna Harper told RTÉ News she was "deeply disappointed" by the minister’s remarks this week when he was asked if his decision to refuse a meeting was insensitive.
Mr O’Callaghan told a UTV reporter at a cross-border policing conference on Monday that his job was "not to be sensitive", but to ensure that justice was delivered.
The explosion at a service station and apartment complex in Creeslough village on 7 October 2022 claimed ten lives including four men, three women and three children.
Ms Harper said the Government should listen to the concerns of the bereaved families and survivors and added she will remain a voice for her daughter Leona Harper.
"Ten people were killed and one of them was my daughter. It’s one of the biggest investigations in the history of the State.
"It’s deeply disappointing that the Minister for Justice has refused to meet us. We are Leona’s grieving parents and we're asking to be heard," she said.
Ms Harper stressed that they are very happy with the ongoing garda criminal investigation, adding that it will only answer some of their concerns.
A primary file was sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on 29 September 2025, and a second file is expected shortly.
"The questions we have are quite personal and private. They should only be put forward to the likes of Mr O’Callaghan," Ms Harper said.
Ms Harper and her husband Hugh spoke to Mr O’Callaghan while he visited Donegal in December and subsequently sought a meeting on behalf of bereaved families.
A department official responded to their request in late February.
Writing on behalf of the minister, they conveyed their sympathies and added that the garda criminal investigation was the "most appropriate process" to address their concerns.
They said it was important the investigation was progressed and not jeopardised in any way and added they appreciated this was not the response they sought.
Mr O’Callaghan echoed those remarks this week when speaking to reporters in Cavan.
"Listen, my job is not to be sensitive; my job is to ensure that justice is delivered. I’m the Minister for Justice; I want to ensure that the families of Creeslough get justice.
"The only way justice can be provided to them is through the courts and we’re at a very advanced stage of the criminal investigation.
"There needs to be, and I hope there will be, criminal prosecutions in respect of what happened at Creeslough and that’s the mechanism to provide justice for the Creeslough families," he said.
Mr O’Callaghan added: "If, at the end of the process, there are answers that still need to be provided I’ll certainly consider an inquiry."
While the minister said he had "no difficulty" meeting the families, he maintained that time must be allowed for potential prosecutions to be initiated.
For some families, they feel that meeting should be held sooner, rather than later.
'Just some acknowledgement'
Shauna Gallagher, who lost her sister Jessica, 24, told Highland Radio they were not asking for any interference with the criminal case, "just some acknowledgement that this is happening," she said.
Ms Gallagher voiced concern that criminal proceedings alone will not give families the full answers and clarity they are seeking.
"The problem with a criminal inquiry is that it will be a yes or no result. As families, we won’t hear the results of the internal inquiries.
"We need to hear why this has happened, as opposed to the yes or no result at the end," she added.
Ms Harper said families do not know when the criminal investigation will be complete or when inquests will take place.
"How many years will that be? No one is asking the minister to jeopardise anything. It’s just talks and it’s very disappointing that the minister has refused," she said.
A spokesperson for the minister said his thoughts remain with the victims, their families and the wider community who continue to feel the impact of that day.
In relation to the call for a public inquiry, the spokesperson said the Government must be careful not to take steps that could cut across or compromise the criminal investigation.
An Garda Síochána said the criminal investigation is ongoing and it added gardaí continue to appeal to any person with information about the fatal explosion, who has not contacted them to please contact the investigating team.
Investigators would like to speak with anyone who was in the commercial premises prior to the explosion and who may not have spoken formally to gardaí to date.
They can be contacted at Milford Garda Station where an incident room continues to investigate under the direction of a senior investigating officer, the Garda Confidential Line or in confidence at any station.
'We don't want them going through what we went through'
The garda statement said families continue to be supported and briefed by family liaison officers.
Bereaved families believe a public inquiry can run alongside ongoing investigation.
Stardust survivor Antoinette Keegan, who lost her sisters Mary and Martina in 1981, previously told RTÉ News that families should not have to endure what they experienced.
Speaking in Creeslough last October, Ms Keegan urged Taoiseach Micheál Martin to give the families an inquiry.
"We don't want them going through what we went through 43 years ago," she said.
In October 2024, a large delegation of the families and survivors met the former minister for justice Helen McEntee and two other cabinet ministers in Government Buildings.
After that meeting, the Department of the Taoiseach said ministers did not rule out a public inquiry, but said it was important that gardaí, the Health and Safety Authority and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities investigations complete their work.
As families grieve their loved ones, the search for answers continues to weigh heavily.
Ms Harper said she will continue to campaign for her daughter.
"Leona had a right to life. She had a right to grow up, to follow her own dreams, her own future and those rights was all taken from her and from us, her parents.
"We’ve lost our only wee girl. Leona’s life mattered, so her death should matter too. We will always be her voice. All we want is to be heard by the Government."
Ms Gallagher told Highland Radio that the tragedy and its aftermath have been lived largely in public, with little privacy for families as they continue seeking answers.
"The deaths were public. The grief was public. There’s been no privacy, really. There won’t be for as long as we have to continue to find out what happened," she said.
