Stories from the families of the Creeslough tragedy

Two years after the Creeslough explosion claimed the lives of ten people, frustrated families, who still have no answers as to what caused the tragedy, tell the stories of their cherished loved ones as over 20 family members of the victims gathered to reiterate calls for a public inquiry.

Áine Flannigan, who lost her daughter Shauna (5) and her partner Robert (50)

"Every day waking up without Bob and Shauna; the heartache of that they're not beside me. I have to push myself forward each day without them. It's a huge void and huge heartache. There's no laughter in the house. There's no joy without them."

On the day of the explosion Áine says she was washing the kitchen floor. Robert and Shauna left the house to get Áine a birthday cake as Shauna wasn’t allowed sweets during the week.

"My birthday was on a weekday. They headed off on Friday, 7 October. As I was washing the floor; I heard a bang, a picture of my grandparents fell off the wall. I just felt to my knees screaming. I just knew something happened. I don't know whether that's a mother's instinct. I knew they were gone.

"I remember their love and laughter. I talk to them every day to give me strength. Bob loved his children. He had five other children and Shauna was the baby. They had a lot in common and they both went out on their scooters. We have a little dog.

"Shauna was always bubbly and happy. Everybody knew Shauna. She was a kind little girl. She loved everybody. Her love shone through. Even in her first few days in school, she was there anytime anybody fell or hurt themselves - she'd be the first to help anyone who fell, was crying or hurt. She was full of love and light.

"It's very difficult approaching the second anniversary with no answers. I miss their love."

Christine Evans, survivor who worked at the deli in the filling station

"I was an employee at the filling station and I worked behind the deli counter. I was working there for over a year. On the day in question, it was quite a busy day because we had a rally coming through Creeslough the next morning. When the explosion happened I was packaging ham. It was an unmerciful bang. I didn't know what had happened.

"One of my colleagues got us out the back door. He removed the rubble from the back door and got us out. I looked up then and saw a great big gap, a hole in my apartment. I lived above the filling station. I didn't know the extent of what happened. I still have no idea what had happened.

"I eventually went around the front and saw the complete destruction. It felt like an artic lorry went through the front of the building. It was quite traumatic.

"I wouldn’t have survived the blast had I been in my apartment. No way. The apartment above mine fell into my apartment and the apartment where the initial explosion happened blew out my apartment.

"I'm a smoker. I used to have a wee cigarette about 3pm when the deli counter was winding down. I wasn’t out smoking that day because we were so busy getting ready for the rally that was meant to come through Creeslough the following day. Had I been standing out having a cigarette that day I would have been killed.

"It’s been extremely difficult. I never any intentions of speaking about it but considering everything that's happened and how quiet it's been, I felt it was my duty to speak about the explosion in support of the families and in their quest for a public inquiry.

"It’s important for me and there’s probably a little healing for me coming forward to tell my story. I haven't spoken to anybody about it until this week.

"I've been trying to get on with things. I've been in close contact with some of the families, but I've been kind of just trying to get through every day the best I can. It doesn't leave you. It's always there. It’s horrendous.

"The families need to know what happened to their loved ones. It was ten people who died; that's a colossal number for such a small little place that we live in Creeslough. I think none of those families can move forward until they do know exactly what happened.

"I think the public inquiry is extremely important for them. It’s what’s keeping them going now as far as I can see."

The solidarity in that room between all of them families is very humbling. They're a strong bunch of people but they need answers.

Neil Martin, who lost his mother, Martina Martin (49)

"We feel like we're in limbo now. We have passed the first stage of the shock. You can’t close the page because it's still ongoing. I know it's been a rough road for all of us.

"My mum and me were the same person. When I decided to speak my own mind for the first time we argued like two cats. It got to a stage where we just realised we were too similar. I think from 19-years-of-age onwards she was my best friend.

"I feel the public inquiry is important. These things take time, but I think it's gone on a bit too long now without giving us the proper information. It seems to be like we’re being spoon fed, a small bit here and a small bit there. It's been going on so long now and it’s not enough.

"I remember everything; the small detail from that night and I think about it all the time. We are struggling. It’s hard. It’s hard to think about it.

"I live in Creeslough and I pass the site every day, even a couple times a day. It’s hard for us to still see it.

"I think that it's time now that we get more information so we can, as families, can close over the page and maybe go on to the next chapter and let us all move on. We’re in limbo at the minute."

Bernadette Gallagher, who lost her daughter, Jessica (24)

"This is Jessica's birthday today. She would’ve been 26 years of age today. We want something's done about her not being able to celebrate her birthday because she died. She was killed. She was killed in a shop, in our local shop. We can't believe it; to go to the local shop and you get killed.

"Jessica lived in Paris, Shanghai and she came home and she was killed in the local shop.

"Jessica had a degree in design. She was a designer. She had got a new job and three days before she was meant to start she was killed. The potential that she could have had in life. We're angry that that nothing's been done. We want the answers and the truth.

"We can't move forward. There's no joy. When we get up in the morning we think about Jessica. We go to our bed and think about Jessica. She's not at any family events anymore. Her sister is getting married next year. She won't be there. We are a family and we're close. She’s missed by her extended family, cousins, and everyone that knew her loved her.

"We’re being told there's an ongoing investigation and that's all we’re hearing. We can't grieve. We just want to know what happened and we want the truth. We would love to have her back in our lives".

Anthony Gallagher, who lost his daughter, Jessica (24)

"We do not want any other family to go through what we have gone through these last two years. The loss is immeasurable. We don't wish that on anybody.

"We would like to get answers. We want the public inquiry to go ahead. As far as I understand, it can run in conjunction with the criminal investigation. At least it would speed things up to give everybody answers, not only the families but the public as well.

"People are coming to me and saying - have you heard anything? Do you know anything? We know the same as anybody else in the street. We know nothing. We would like to get answers and the truth is all we want".

Seana Gallagher, who lost her sister, Jessica (24)

"It's only really felt real this year that this happened. Today is Jessica's 26th birthday and she's in the ground for reasons unknown. It is just quite difficult to swallow.

"We were in such shock at the start; not just us, but the wider community too. Everybody was more than happy to believe we were going to get the information we needed at some point but that hasn't really happened yet. Hence the request for the public inquiry.

"It's not just our individual family or the families of the people who lost loved ones - there's other victims that have been seriously harmed. Jessica's partner too - they all deserve answers as much as we do. Their lives have been changed irreparably forever. Things will never be the same for them either. It's not just justice for us. It would be justice for them too.

"Nobody's going to move forward from the loss of a loved one to such tragic circumstance but more so to be able to start putting the pieces of life back together.

"We're on hold. Everybody's ourselves, all the families, everybody's on hold, waiting to know what happened so that we can start grieving properly and start missing them properly.

"It feels like we shouldn't be having to do this. We shouldn't be having to ask for a public inquiry to be able to find out why our loved ones aren't with us anymore".

Ann Marie Boyle, who lost her sister, Catherine (39) and her nephew James (13)

"Catherine was the youngest of our family of the six of us. She took mum shopping, to the doctors. She did everything. James never left his Granny’s house. It was like his second home. James loved life. He loved his play station and wrestling.

"Catherine organised everything. Whenever there was a christening, a communion or an event - Catherine would have the camera out. She would say we have to make memories. Everywhere in her house there were the photographs of these memories; photographs dotted everywhere around the house.

"It's very important that there’s a public inquiry. We understand the Gardaí have to continue their investigation and there's only so much that they can tell us.

"We understand the Stardust families had to wait years and years before they got the proper answers. We don't want it to be years and years before we get the answers of how our ten family members died.

"It should never have happened".

Christopher Monaghan, who lost his son James (13)

"It's upsetting. I miss them so much. We want to know what happened. We want the truth; what happened that day? Why did it happen? And hopefully it won't happen again. Ten lives gone. It should never have happened. What caused it? Why did it happen? What went wrong? We just want answers and the truth."

Donna and Hugh Harper, who lost their daughter Leona (14)

"It's been extremely difficult. It will always be difficult for us, all of us as families. Everybody that lost a loved one, everybody that was injured. Everyone is traumatised. It's a big circle of people out there who are deeply affected by this.

"It’s very difficult as Leona's mom and dad sitting here today to go on the national broadcaster and ask for this help. It never gets any easier for us losing our 14-year-old daughter on 7 October, 2022.

"Leona had a right to life and she deserved that right for life. It was all taken and stolen. All her hopes and dreams taken from her and our hopes for her as a daughter, for her life, going forward, it's all been taken away from us.

"We understand there’s an ongoing garda investigation and we're happy with what the gardaí are doing. We feel there's relevant information that will help us as families understand the events of the hours and days leading up to 7 October, 2022.

"We want to meet with the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee. We want to be able to talk to the Minister and put our points across. We just want her to listen to our stories.

"We're all standing here together. We're all united now because we all want answers. It's very important for us. A public inquiry would help all of us; everybody out there that are seeking the answers.

"It's very important to get those answers to be able to try and move forward in some kind of small way. We need to know what happened.

Family members say questions remain

"The truth is very important for us as a family," said Ms Harper.

"We have questions and as time goes on - you think you have the answers. You think back on that day. You see the images. You hear some stories. It all comes down to one question; how was this allowed to happen to Leona?

"I ask myself questions about the last moments of her life; hoping that she wasn't looking for her parents and that leads to the question - was this preventable?

"Can we stop this from happening again and do we have to think that this could happen to another family and watch them suffer?".

Ms Harper finished by reiterating her call on the Minister for Justice to meet with the families of the Creeslough tragedy.

"We need a meeting with the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee so I will sit here and I will ask, please, Helen McEntee, give us that meeting as a family. Give us the meeting that we deserve."