Lives in Creeslough 'will never be the same again', says Daniel O’Donnell

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

Donegal singer Daniel O’Donnell has said the lives of people affected by the Creeslough tragedy will never be the same again.

The popular country singer revealed that he was travelling home from the US when he first heard the news about the disaster which claimed 10 lives following an explosion at a service station.

He also said he had been in the shop which was destroyed in the blast in August.

“I was in the airport in Chicago when my niece called me and she said there has been a terrible explosion in Creeslough, at the service station,” he told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme.

“Initially you are hoping that there will be no fatalities, that people won’t be badly injured.

“And then very, very quickly, as the story unfolded, we realised it was worse than anybody could ever believe.

“Before I left Chicago, it was announced that there was three fatalities and a number of people taken to the hospital.

“By the time we arrived there were 10 people dead.”

Mr O’Donnell continued: “It is just unbelievable in a small community, you just can’t hardly believe that it is a reality that the people of the area are facing.

“I went into that shop, I was passing by in August, going to the golf in Rosapenna, and I went in and got diesel, I went into the shop and got whatever I wanted.

“That’s what people did last Friday, they did exactly what I did.

“All the people, their lives will be never the same for the rest of their time on earth.

“The people of Creeslough and the surrounding area, I was just saying to somebody, when will there ever be a happy day in Creeslough again?

“Whereas the community is in shock and sorrow, the amazing thing is the community, how it comes together.

“The local people were the first people to be there, to go into where the accident happened without a thought of their own wellbeing other than to think about the people who were inside.”