PA MediaA number of family members have started civil proceedings for “personal injury loss and suffering arising out of the tragedy at Creeslough”, a law firm has said.
The blast, which killed 10 people, happened at a service station in the County Donegal village on 7 October 2022.
The cases are being brought against the operators and owners of the Applegreen service station, as well as the management company for the adjoining apartments.
The victims – four men, three women, two teenagers and a five-year-old girl – were from the village or surrounding areas.
Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, which represents 11 people in the civil proceedings, said “many unanswered questions” remain around the tragedy.
“Given the delay in the state initiating an independent inquiry along the lines the families have asked, our clients have no alternative but to pursue all available legal remedies to access the truth and the answers they so deserve,” he said.
“Akin to the planning permission challenge, it is abhorrent that these families are forced to, yet again, take the legal process into their own hands to get justice for their loved ones.”
Another firm, Damien Tansey Solicitors LLP, representing other families and survivors has ben approached for comment.
Defendants listed include; Applegreen Ltd, Donegal County Council, Vivo Shell Ltd, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, and Duntally Woods Apartment Owners Management Company.
Creeslough explosion
Creeslough is a small village in the north west of the island of Ireland, about 15 miles (24km) from Letterkenny and 30 miles (48km) from the border with Northern Ireland.
It has a population of about 400 people.
The blast resulted in the highest number of civilian casualties in a single incident in the county in decades.
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; Jessica Gallagher; Martin McGill; James O’Flaherty; Martina Martin; Hugh Kelly; and 14-year-old Leona Harper.
In November 2024, Donegal County Council passed a motion calling on the next Irish government to establish a public inquiry into the Creeslough explosion.
In February, Donegal County Council granted planning permission to Vivo Shell Ltd to redevelop the existing building at the site by building a new petrol station and shop.
However, family members appealed the decision and in June planning permission was refused.
