Creeslough tragedy: Kind nature of Jessica Gallagher and Martin McGill recalled at funeral Masses

Two of the victims of the service station explosion in Creelough, Co Donegal have been remembered as kind and loving people at their respective funeral Masses.

Ten people, aged from five to 59, were killed in the tragedy in the village on Friday afternoon.

The first of the funerals, for Jessica Gallagher (24) was held at St Michael’s Church in Creeslough, on Tuesday morning, with a service for Martin McGill (49) taking place a couple of hours later.

Ms Gallagher was a fashion designer and was due to start a new job in Belfast this week. Her first commissioned piece of clothing — a tweed shirt — was among the offertory gifts brought to the altar during her funeral Mass. Jessica’s body was carried into the church in a wicker casket, and a photograph of her was placed on the casket at the altar, where 10 red candles have been lit to represent the victims.

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People lined the streets of the village ahead of the Mass, with family, friends, neighbours and a number of emergency responders who took part in the recovery operation in attendance.

Fr John Joe Duffy expressed “sincere and heartfelt sympathies” to Jessica’s father and mother, Anthony and Bernie, her sisters Lisa and Shauna Marie and her boyfriend Conor McFadden, who Jessica was visiting at the time of the explosion and remains in a critical condition in hospital.

In his homily, Fr Duffy described Jessica as a “jewel” in all of their lives.

“Jessica radiated a warm, positive feeling on those who knew her best. If you throw a stone into the water you will see many ripples coming from where the stone impacts into the water, Jessica through her life left many ripples, many ripples of love, affection, kindness, warmth for so many,” he said.

“We are experiencing, you the family are experiencing, that most difficult challenge of all — the pain and hardship of having to say goodbye to Jessica today.”

Fr Duffy told mourners that Jessica’s grieving father Anthony had told him of his pride in how the community in Creeslough had responded to the tragedy. “That sums up the type of community that we are, and it is that community and our faith that will help us in the pathway of life ahead,” he added.

The priest said Jessica “radiated a warm and positive feeling” to all who knew her well and she was “bursting with energy and imagination”.

“Everyone who knew Jessica knew that radiant smile. That radiant smile that would light up a room with that infectious warmth that flowed from her,” he said. “She always brought that sun whether things were happy or difficult.”

Bishop of Raphoe Alan McGuckian led the congregation in a prayer to end the service at St Michael’s Church in the village. Ms Gallagher was be buried at Doe Cemetery.

Fr Duffy told mourners that Pope Francis was “heartbroken” at the tragedy that had struck the village and the “sad loss of lives and life so young”. He said a fellow priest, Fr Eamonn McLaughlin from nearby Downings, was in Rome and had spoken to the pontiff in recent days.

Addressing the Gallagher family, Fr Duffy said Pope Francis “wants to personally assure you as a family of his prayers this morning, and to assure all the families and this community of his prayers and he wants to assure those who are in hospital very specially also of his prayers”.

“He wants us to know, and the families of the bereaved and the injured and the community of Creeslough to know, that we are all and you are all in his thoughts and prayers,” he said.

Fr Duffy also said Irish troops in the Lebanon were having Mass said on Tuesday morning for all those killed and injured in the tragedy.

A separate funeral service has been held for Mr McGill (49), who was originally from Scotland, at the same church. Locals and first responders again lined the streets of the village as a hearse carrying his remains made its way to St Michael’s Church.

Fr Duffy officiated at the Mass again, welcoming mourners and offering sympathy to Mr McGill’s mother Mary, who he said the deceased was dedicated to caring for.

“Martin was a carer who was filled with love, filled with kindness and compassion,” he said. “Despite the awful, horrible tragedy that has struck at the very heart of this community, and broken our hearts, from the very first moment aren’t those the key words that have been in action in this community but have always been in action in this community.”

Fr Duffy said Mr McGill had now been reunited with his recently deceased father, Joseph.

“His strength was in that he was a caring person,” he said. “And the fact that he was a caring person, a person of kindness and compassion, gave him strength when he had to face bereavement and not very long ago when he had to say goodbye to his dad which was most difficult for him.”

Fr Duffy said Mr McGill had the “most beautiful soul”, was a dedicated Celtic Football Club fan and someone who you would often see around the village doing things to help other people.

“It was I suppose against the odds that Martin would not have been in the shop, for he went to the shop five times a day or more to bring those errands out for people,” he said.

[ Creeslough seeks the words to make sense of an unfathomable tragedy ]

President Michael D Higgins was represented at the funerals by his aide-de-camp while Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue represented the Government. Others in attendance included Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill, local TDs Joe McHugh and Pearse Doherty and the cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Liam Blaney.

Candlelit vigils took place across Donegal and in Derry on Monday to remember the victims of the tragedy. The other victims were Robert Garwe (50) and his daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe (5), who were in the shop to buy a birthday cake; James O’Flaherty (48); Leona Harper (14); Catherine O’Donnell (39) and her son James Monaghan (13); Hugh Kelly (59); and Martina Martin (49).

Mr O’Flaherty’s funeral will be in St Mary’s Church in Derrybeg on Wednesday. A joint service for Ms O’Donnell and her son James will be held at St Michael’s in Creeslough on Wednesday afternoon.

The funeral of Leona Harper is to take place at St Mary’s Church, Ramelton, on Thursday. Mrs Martin, a mother of four, will be laid to rest on Thursday with a service at St Michael’s Church, Creeslough.