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Creeslough marks fourth anniversary of explosion that killed 10, with no charges yet

The Donegal community is marking four years since the 7 October 2022 Creeslough explosion, which killed 10 people. Families are still waiting for answers: no one has been charged and they are pressing for a public inquiry.

3 outlets · 1L · 1C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: Irish Independent
Image: BBC News
Image: Daily Mirror

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2The community in Creeslough, Co Donegal, is gathering to mark the fourth anniversary of the explosion at a service station and apartment complex in the village. Left · 1A commemoration and prayer service is due at the site at 3pm on 7 October, when the community will again remember the 10 people who died. Left · 1The dead 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.

Left · 1No one has been charged and the Garda investigation is ongoing; seven arrests have been made, most recently in September 2025. Left · 1Gardaí are investigating alongside the Health and Safety Authority and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities. They sent their main file to the Director of Public Prosecutions in September last year and a supplementary file with formal recommendations in April. The DPP has not yet said whether there will be prosecutions, and preparations continue for inquests into the 10 deaths. Left · 1Hugh Harper, whose 14-year-old daughter Leona was killed, told BBC Radio Foyle the family's "grief is frozen in time" and that a public inquiry is "the only tool to compel people to be questioned under oath and get definitive answers". Leona's mother Donna said the family's lives have been "on hold" and that they will not stop until they get answers.

Left · 1Aine Flanagan, mother of Shauna and partner of Robert Garwe, told the Irish Independent she is waiting for answers, with "No inquest, no death certs, no answers". Left · 1The families met Taoiseach Micheál Martin in July. Their solicitor later said he indicated a statutory inquiry could be considered if the criminal, coronial and other processes failed to provide answers. Left · 1A Department of Justice spokesperson said the focus is on letting the investigative processes proceed independently and without prejudice. Gardaí renewed their appeal for anyone with information to come forward.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
The Daily Mirror leads with a bereaved father's account of unresolved grief and the family's search for answers, with the investigation status and official statements as context.
Emphasis
Family quotes, the call for a public inquiry, absence of charges, the DPP files, and the Taoiseach meeting.
Leaves out or plays down
No account of the community service beyond its time and place.
Charged language
“grief frozen in time”“rabbit holes”
For example
“Dad of girl, 14, killed in Creeslough explosion says 'grief frozen in time' as family still search for answers” — Daily Mirror

Centre1 outlet

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right1 outlet

Framing
The Irish Independent's headline frames the story as a community gathering to mark the anniversary.
Emphasis
Commemoration by the community.
Leaves out or plays down
Its headline does not mention the investigation or the families' calls for answers.
For example
“Community in Donegal to gather to mark fourth anniversary of Creeslough explosion” — Irish Independent