Ireland

Martin McGill 'full of love, kindness and compassion', Creeslough funeral told

A piper plays as the hearse carrying Martin McGill, 49, arrives at St Michael's Church, Creeslough, for his funeral Mass. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire
A piper plays as the hearse carrying Martin McGill, 49, arrives at St Michael's Church, Creeslough, for his funeral Mass. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire

A man killed in the Creeslough explosion was full of love, kindness and compassion, his funeral has been told.

Father John Joe Duffy told the service at St Michael's Church in the Co Donegal village that Martin McGill (49) had the "most beautiful soul".

Mr McGill, who was originally from Scotland and an avid Celtic fan, was the second of 10 victims of Friday's tragedy to be laid to rest on Tuesday.

A lone piper led the funeral cortege to the church.

Fr John Joe Duffy welcomed mourners at the start of the service and offered sympathy to Mr McGill's mother Mary and to his sisters Marie Louise and Caroline.

In his homily, Father Duffy told mourners how Mr McGill was dedicated to caring for his beloved mother.

"Martin was a carer who was full of love, full of kindness and full of compassion," he said.

"Despite the awful, horrible tragedy that has struck at the very heart of this community, and broken our hearts, from the very first moment aren't those the key words that have been in action in this community but have always been in action in this community."

Fr Duffy said Mr McGill had now been reunited with his recently deceased father Joseph.

Family members walk behind the hearse carrying Martin McGill, 49, as it arrives at St Michael's Church, Creeslough, for his funeral Mass. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire
Family members walk behind the hearse carrying Martin McGill, 49, as it arrives at St Michael's Church, Creeslough, for his funeral Mass. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire

"His strength was in that he was a caring person," he added.

"And the fact that he was a caring person, a person of kindness and compassion, gave him strength when he had to face bereavement and not very long ago when he had to say goodbye to his dad which was most difficult for him."

The cleric said Mr Magill was "a gentle soul, a kind person".

He added: "A person where you could see the goodness flowing out from him. It was effervescent. It was like when you tighten a bottle and you give it a shake as a child and make it go all over the place when you open it up.

"He was just so caring. The caring flowed out from him. Each Sunday he would be in this church, he would be down there lighting candles. I think he lit more candles than I ever lit anyway in my life. I don't think anyone could break that record."

Mr McGill was originally from Kirkintilloch near Glasgow.

Fr Duffy said it would have meant a lot of him that the Old Firm club had made a donation to a support fund for the Creeslough victims and that its players will wear black armbands at their next match as a mark of respect.

He said Mr McGill was a familiar sight in Creeslough wearing his Celtic top and carrying a bottle of Lucozade.

He said he was routinely in the shop where he ultimately died, doing messages for other people.

"It was I suppose against the odds that Martin would not have been in the shop, for he went to the shop five times a day or more to bring those errands out for people," he said.

"He was someone who just loved life and loved the simple things of life."

At the end of the service Fr Duffy said he had been asked by the family to thank all who had offered support in recent days.

Bishop of Raphoe Alan McGuckian then led the congregation in prayer before mourners sang along to the song You'll Never Walk Alone.

Mr McGill's remains were then taken for burial at Doe Cemetery.

This afternoon, Taoiseach Micheál Martin led expressions of sympathy in the Dáil for the 10 people who died in Donegal.

Mr Martin said the 10 men, women and children represented "everything good and kind, and beautiful about Creeslough, Donegal and our country".

"Fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, each one an enormous, incalculable loss in the lives of those around them," he said.

The hearse carrying Martin McGill, 49, arrives at St Michael's Church, Creeslough, for his funeral Mass. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire
The hearse carrying Martin McGill, 49, arrives at St Michael's Church, Creeslough, for his funeral Mass. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire

"This is a community bereft , a close-knit people in deep sadness and mourning, devastated by what has happened. But it's also a community of great strength and resilience, pulling together to support each other through this terrible time."

The Fianna Fáil leader said he met many people over the weekend who shared stories of the "most extraordinary courage, commitment, heroism, and love".

"Stories of local people putting themselves at risk and doing everything humanly possible to save the lives of their neighbours in the aftermath of the explosion," he said.

"Of first responders and emergency services from north and south facing scenes that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. But never hesitating for a second to do everything they could."

The Taoiseach continued: "As the people of Creeslough begin the rituals of funerals and burials, we gather as an Oireachtas this afternoon, to offer our sincere sympathy, express our shared respect for the bereaved and the injured and to remember and honour those who have died.

"It is important that those struggling to make sense of the enormous and heartbreaking loss now confronting them, know that the entire nation is with them in spirit.

"Words on their own cannot comfort the fathomless grief that so many will feel in the weeks and months ahead but what we can do, and what I know we will do, is to be there for them.

"Individually across this house and collectively as an Oireachtas in the service of all the people of Ireland, we stand with the community of Creeslough and the people of Donegal at home and abroad."

Micheal Martin paid tribute to those who cared for people in the aftermath of the explosion in Creeslough.

"We pay tribute to the true courage and dedication of our emergency services and healthcare staff," he told the Dail.

"We are reminded of the critical role they play in our national life and we thank them for being there in our darkest moments of need."

Mr Martin added: "We put our arms around the bereaved and the injured. We pledge to support this community now and in the time ahead as it comes to terms with this trauma and we remember those who have died.

"Hugh, Robert, Martina, Martin, James, Catherine, Jessica, Leona, James and Shauna."

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the "nation is in tears" following the Donegal blast.

He told the Dáil the "world stopped" as people learned of the "terrible tragedy, a tragedy which makes no sense, and whose only lesson is pain and loss.

"Since then we've seen the best of each other, a small country becoming one big community to search together to grieve together and to heal together," he said.

"This week the world is watching us and it's seeing a nation in tears. As a people from this place, we send our condolences to all those whose grief is still raw and painful and all too terrible to comprehend.

"A nation stands with you. A nation mourns with you."

Mr Varadkar thanked the emergency services, rescue workers and volunteers who came to the scene after the explosion.

He said the government will help the people of Creeslough in the coming months and years.

"Today, we're a country torn apart by grief but we're also a community joining together to help those worst affected and to do what we can to support each other," he told the Dáil.

"As a government, we'll put the full resources of the state behind the efforts to rebuild a broken community to heal the many emotional and physical wounds.

"That requires our help in a medium and long-term as well because the deepest wounds are invisible and they can last for a lifetime."

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Priest Fr John Joe Duffy sprinkles holy water on the coffin of Martin McGill, 49, as it arrives at St Michael's Church, Creeslough, for his funeral Mass. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA Wire
Priest Fr John Joe Duffy sprinkles holy water on the coffin of Martin McGill, 49, as it arrives at St Michael's Church, Creeslough, for his funeral Mass. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA Wire