FAMILIES affected by the Creeslough tragedy will meet the Taoiseach at the end of this month – but one parent says he hopes the meeting isn’t just a ‘box-ticking’ exercise.
Last month, relatives of those who were killed and injured in an explosion on October 7, 2022, took their campaign for truth and answers to Leinster House, where they met with TDs and senators.
In the past week, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin has agreed to meet the devastated Creeslough families in their campaign for a public inquiry.
The government has maintained that a public inquiry should not begin while the criminal investigation remains active, although campaigners argue that both processes could run concurrently.
Hugh Harper, father of 14-year-old Leona Harper who was killed in the Creeslough tragedy, spoke to the Donegal News on the upcoming meeting.
“Initially, our thoughts were that we’re grateful for the opportunity to meet the Taoiseach, but I’m slightly concerned now that we’re kind of being pushed from pillar to post,” he said.
“I would have hoped to have met the Taoiseach a long time ago. The fact that we’re meeting him now, I just hope that it’s not seen as a box-ticking exercise.”
Mr Harper said a public inquiry would involve a wider investigation into the circumstances that led to the tragedy, and would answer more questions than a criminal investigation on its own.
“We are specifically calling for a public inquiry for the simple reason that the state has the sole responsibility of keeping the people of this country safe, along with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU),” he said.
“We’re not going to go away. We’re going to keep continuing and keep fighting for this and keep calling for this. This cannot be a mirror image of the tragedies that have happened in this country previously.”
Mr Harper added that preventing such tragedies from occurring in the future is one of the things that helps drive on the families’ campaign.
“At the end of the day, here in Donegal, there’s ten people that were killed, that basically were going about their own business without a care in the world, to go into a shop on a Friday afternoon and then tragedy struck,” he said.
“And when you consider the amount of legislation, safety precautions, health and safety, and regulation, you have to start broadening your horizons on questions as to what was the government’s responsibility. How was that handled, was it enforced, and was the legislation in place to stop this from happening?”
Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan met with the families, survivors, and legal representatives in April.
He described it as a “constructive” meeting and said: “I listened to their individual concerns and heard the families’ understandable need for justice and answers.”
The possibility of a State inquest, like the Stardust inquest, has also been suggested.
The criminal investigation into the cause of the Creeslough explosion is continuing.
A file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in September 2025, while a supplementary file was submitted by investigating gardaí.
The file contains recommendations following liaison with victims’ families.
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities submitted a file to the DPP, while one from the Health and Safety Authority is expected.
Those who died in the Creeslough explosion were Leona Harper (14); Robert Garwe (50) and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe; Catherine O’Donnell (39) and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan; Jessica Gallagher (24); Martin McGill (49); James O’Flaherty (48); Martina Martin (49); and Hugh “Hughie” Kelly (59).
The 10 people who lost their lives in the Creeslough explosion.