Man released without charge in Creeslough investigation

A man who was arrested by gardaí investigating an explosion in Creeslough in Co Donegal in 2022, in which ten people died, has been released without charge.

The man, who is in his 60s, voluntarily presented himself at Dundalk Garda Station and was arrested shortly before 10am yesterday morning.

He was detained for a period of 15 hours and was questioned by gardaí.

The man was released without charge around 1am this morning and a file will now be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, his solicitor Joe Rice has confirmed.

It is understood that the man was arrested for alleged reckless endangerment contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.

Gardaí yesterday confirmed that the man was being detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

There have been four previous arrests in relation to this investigation, three men and one woman. All four people were released without charge.

Gardaí have said their investigation into the fatal explosion at a building complex in Creeslough is ongoing and is being co-ordinated from Milford Garda Station in Co Donegal, where an incident room has been set up under the direction of a senior investigating officer.

They say the investigation continues to be led by local gardaí in the Donegal Division and is being supported by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and other agencies including the Health & Safety Authority and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities.

The explosion claimed the lives of four men, three women and three children on the afternoon of Friday 7 October 2022.

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.