Creeslough father marks fourth anniversary of daughter's death still seeking answers

Four years after an explosion devastated a small County Donegal village, the father of one of the youngest victims has spoken of a family suspended in grief, unable to move forward without knowing what caused the blast that killed his teenage daughter.

Leona Harper was 14 years old when she died in the explosion at a service station in Creeslough on 7 October 2022. She was one of 10 people killed in the incident, which also claimed the lives of three adults and six other young people, leaving a further eight people injured. Leona had travelled to the village for a sleepover and was going to the shop to buy ice-cream when the explosion tore through the Applegreen service station complex.

Her father, Hugh Harper, said the family home remains largely as it was on the day she died. Leona's coat is still hanging in the hallway. Soil from the pitch where she played her last rugby match is still caked on her boots. Her bedroom has not been touched. These objects have become the family's connection to a girl they are still struggling to mourn properly, because the circumstances of her death remain unresolved.

No official explanation has been given for what caused the explosion, and despite a number of arrests, no one has been charged in connection with the blast. Gardaí forwarded a primary investigation file to the Director of Public Prosecutions last September, and a second file was sent in April. The Director of Public Prosecutions is responsible for deciding whether criminal charges should be brought, but no decision has yet been made public.

Hugh Harper told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme that the absence of answers has left the family trapped. He described trying to piece together information independently, only to find himself lost in a maze of rabbit holes where one question simply leads to another. He said the experience feels like torture and torment, and that returning each evening to a home that is not the same has forced them into a painful and endless period of adjustment.

The Harper family, along with other victims' relatives and survivors, are campaigning for a public inquiry into the Creeslough explosion. In July, a meeting was held in Dublin between families and Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Hugh Harper said he is unwavering in his belief that a public inquiry is the only mechanism capable of compelling people to give evidence under oath and providing definitive answers about what happened. He described the family as being steadfast on this point.

For Hugh Harper, the grief has not softened with the passage of time. He said every day the family mourns for their little girl and that they remain stuck on 7 October 2022. When he wakes in the morning, his first thought is always about Leona and the unanswered questions surrounding her final moments. He said that until they have answers, their grief is frozen in time, unable to progress through the normal stages of mourning that might otherwise bring some measure of acceptance.

The personal toll is evident in the way Hugh Harper speaks about the promises he made to his daughter. When Leona was born, he was the first person to hold her. He promised her that he would keep her safe and let nothing happen to her, a promise he said he was unable to keep. He now speaks of continuing that commitment even in death, vowing to do his best to protect her name and to establish exactly what happened in Creeslough on the day she died. He said he will leave no stone unturned in that effort.

A commemoration service is being held on Wednesday in Creeslough to mark the fourth anniversary of the explosion and to remember the 10 victims. Hugh Harper and his family will travel to the village for the service, returning to the place where Leona spent the final hours of her life. Such anniversaries are often deeply painful for grieving families, but for those in Creeslough the event also underscores the distance still to travel before the truth is fully known.

In a statement to BBC News NI, a spokesperson for the Irish Department of Justice said that as the fourth anniversary approaches, the thoughts of Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan remain with the families, loved ones, survivors and the wider community of Creeslough. The spokesperson said the focus of the investigation remains on ensuring that the investigative processes are allowed to proceed independently and without prejudice so that the full facts can be established. This language appears carefully chosen to avoid compromising any future legal proceedings.

Gardaí also issued a statement on the anniversary, saying that the victims, their families and the community are in their thoughts. They renewed an appeal for anyone with information about the fatal explosion to come forward and speak to investigating officers. Such appeals are standard in major investigations, but their repetition four years on reflects the ongoing nature of the inquiry and the possibility that members of the public may still hold details that could prove significant.

The Creeslough investigation has been one of the most complex undertaken by An Garda Síochána in recent years. The forensic examination of the site, the analysis of the service station's infrastructure and the collection of witness statements have involved multiple agencies and specialist expertise. The fact that two separate files have now been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions suggests that investigators have identified potential lines of inquiry they believe merit prosecutorial consideration, even if no charges have yet followed.

For the families of the victims, the passage of four years without a definitive explanation has become a form of ongoing harm. Politicians and victim support groups have argued that prolonged uncertainty can compound the trauma of sudden bereavement, leaving relatives unable to process their loss or to direct their anger and sadness toward something concrete. Many of the Creeslough families have said they cannot begin to heal while the basic question of what caused the explosion remains unanswered.

The wider community in Creeslough has also been deeply affected. The village, located in the north-west of County Donegal, is small enough that almost everyone knows someone touched by the tragedy. The service station that was destroyed served as a local hub, a place where people bought groceries, filled their cars and met one another. Its destruction and the loss of life that accompanied it have left a scar that residents say will not fully heal until the truth is established and accountability is determined.

As the fourth anniversary arrives, the central demand from the Harper family and other campaigners remains unchanged. They want a public inquiry with the power to compel testimony and to examine all the evidence in a forum that is transparent to the public. Hugh Harper's message is that while Leona is no longer physically present, he feels she is still with him, and he intends to honour the promise he made to her. For the families of Creeslough, the search for answers is not simply a legal process but a continuation of love and duty.