October 8, 2022: Emergency services attend the scene the day after an explosion at a petrol station in Creeslough, Co Donegal. Getty Images
Gardaí investigating the fatal 2022 explosion in Creeslough, Co Donegal, have arrested a man on for alleged offences contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
The man, aged in his 40s, was arrested this morning, Friday, September 12, and has been detained under the provisions of Section 4 Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda station in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.
Gardaí said on Friday morning that their investigation is ongoing and coordinated from Milford Garda Station, where an Incident Room is established under the direction of a Garda Senior Investigating Officer.
The investigation continues to be led by local Gardaí in the Donegal Division, supported by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) and other agencies, including the Health & Safety Authority (HSA) and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU).
An Garda Síochána repeated the request from the families of the victims that the media continue to respect their privacy at this time.
The Creeslough tragedy
On October 7, 2022, an explosion at the Applegreen Station in Creeslough, Co Donegal killed ten people: Jessica Gallagher, 24, Robert Garwe, 50, his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe, Leona Harper, 14, Hugh Kelly, 59, Martina Martin, 49, Martin McGill, 49, Catherine O'Donnell, 39, her 13-year-old son James Monaghan, and James O'Flaherty, 48.
Victims of the Creeslough tragedy.
Friday's arrest is the first major update in the investigation into the tragedy in nearly four months - on May 23, An Garda Síochána said that a man in his 60s had been arrested. He was released the following day without charge.
More recently, in July, planning permission for the site of the tragedy was overturned following an appeal from the victims' families.
Afterward, Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, the firm representing some of the families of the Creeslough victims, said: "We continue to call for a full public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
"The families remain committed to seeking truth, accountability and justice.”