The sister of one of the Creeslough tragedy victims has asked Irish people around the world to help mark the first anniversary - so families know they are not alone.
On Saturday, the Co Donegal village will hold events to mark a year since a suspected gas explosion caused the collapse of a shop and apartment complex, killing 10 people including three children.
Lisa Gallagher, whose sister Jessica was among those who lost their lives, has recalled the trauma of last October 7 in an interview with Creeslough friends Aidan Hunter and Stephen Doak on their Soul Brew podcast.
Now living in California, she was packing up her home in Galway in preparation to move when she received a call from a friend to tell her there had been an explosion.
She recalled desperately trying to contact her sister but initially didn’t believe she had been caught up in the explosion because Jessica was “notorious” for not answering her phone. Around three hours after the explosion, she received the terrible news.
“I got a call then maybe around six o’clock that Jessica had been killed in the explosion,” she said.
She then travelled to Creeslough, a journey she described as the “longest drive” she ever made. Ms Gallagher recalled people sending her messages, offering sympathies and recalled wondering how they knew that she had been told the news.
Read more:
- People of Creeslough are recalling life before deadly explosion
- Creeslough anniversary: The tragedy victims
Ms Gallagher said her sister filled her short life.
“She went off and did things, like lived in China, lived in Paris, lived in Derry. She didn’t want to stay in Creeslough, not that Creeslough’s not great or anything, but her thing was go out, push your boundaries; do the things that are scary; try them out and enjoy yourself while you’re doing it,” she said.
As she prepares to mark the anniversary, Ms Gallagher said she now tries to “take life by the horns”.
“I normally don’t say no to things anymore. Life’s too short,” she said.
She called on Irish emigrants around the world to mark the anniversary and to note how they did so on social media "so that they would know they weren’t alone".
A Garda-led investigation into the disaster continues with more than 1,350 lines of inquiry.
