Heartbroken Creeslough families plead with Justice Minister to meet with them before election

The families of people who died or were injured in the Creeslough tragedy have written directly to the Minister for Justice pleading with her to meet them before the general election.

The group, calling itself the Creeslough Family Support Group, wrote to Minister Helen McEntee's office on Friday last seeking a meeting to discuss a call for an independent inquiry into the tragedy.

The group says it represents an estimated 40 people who have been directly affected by the explosion in the Co Donegal village on October 7, 2022 in which ten people were killed.

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Those who died were Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe; Catherine O’Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan; fashion student Jessica Gallagher; Martin McGill; James O’Flaherty; Martina Martin; Hugh “Hughie” Kelly; and Leona Harper, aged 14.

Last month, on September 26, a solicitor representing the families of seven of the ten people who died wrote to Minister McEntee's office requesting the establishment of a public inquiry.

In the letter, the grieving relatives said the criminal investigation by gardaí “is far from complete” after two years.

They added that Gardai were limited by the scope of their investigation and referred to “wider issues of preventability” saying they never wanted another Creeslough tragedy to happen again.

Speaking on the second anniversary of the tragedy on October 7 last, Minister McEntee said she was happy to meet with all the Creeslough families.

She said “We have to set a date but I’m very conscious that it is two years, and 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.”

The Justice Minister said a file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions “in the near future” and that there are “also separate investigations underway through the energy regulator and the Health and Safety Authority.

“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.

“So I will meet with them and I look forward to meeting with them, obviously listening to them, while at the same time respecting the process that’s underway at the moment," she said.

However, the Creeslough Family Support Group say they say they are now very concerned their request for a meeting and call for an independent inquiry will be delayed when a general election is called.

In the new letter to Minister McEntee, the group said their trauma to date has been immeasurable.

"The impact this has had on the families, friends, schools that all create a community after losing ten people has had a huge impact not only to the Creeslough community but to the people outside of the village and also the county and country as a whole.

"It has been recognised as a national tragedy. From the tremendous amount of lives lost and the huge devastation, naturally questions have arisen and the most common of which is 'why?'

"As a group we all have our own questions that we believe are valid. We are supporting the families in their endeavours to understand the series of events that may have led to the suspected explosion that killed ten people," says the letter.

The group added that they would like to meet with the Minister before a General Election takes place to discuss their concerns.

The letter adds the group hopes the requested meeting will be made a priority by the Minister before people go to the polls.

It reads: "Unfortunately, for us because of the nature of politics we find ourselves looking at the prospect of a general election being called.

"We are all worried that our prospect for a meeting will be affected by this and we will be seen as a distraction and a problem for the Government going forward.

"We hope this will not be the case and that a meeting will be afforded to us before an election is called and that this meeting will be made a priority.

"We, as a group, respectfully ask that you give this your immediate attention and that you will back to all involved with the confirmation of a date for the meeting requested."

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