THE families of those who died in the Creeslough explosion in Co. Donegal have called on the Irish Government to hold a public inquiry into the tragedy.
The devastating incident at the Applegreen station on October 7, 2022, killed 10 people – aged between five and 59 years old.
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.
Their families are now calling for an independent investigation to be established into the tragedy.
Darragh Mackin, of Phoenix Law, which represents the next of kin of seven of the ten victims of the explosion, has written to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee asking for an inquiry to be established.
In his letter Mr Mackin said the families of the victims had each endured “unimaginable pain and suffering”.
“Their families remain unable to grieve for their loss until such times as they know the truth of what occurred, the failings are acknowledged, and specific lessons are learned so that an incident like this never happens again,” he wrote.
“We write to formally request that the minister give consideration to the commissioning of an independent investigation in the form of a public inquiry or commission of investigation, in the terms to be agreed in consultation with the families,” he added.