Singers and musicians taking part in a concert in memory of those who died in the Creeslough gas explosion. have spoken of the healing power of music.
On 7 October 2022, 10 people lost their lives in the explosion at a service station in the village.
Four men, three women, two teenagers and a five-year-old girl were killed.
The cause is still unknown and an investigation by gardaà (Irish police) is ongoing.
The Together for Creeslough concert is taking place at Letterkenny’s Aura leisure centre.
About 1,500 people, including relatives of those killed and emergency service personnel, are at the concert.
It is being hosted by Moya Brennan of Clannad and Mairéad Nà Mhaonaigh of Altan.
Local schoolchildren from Scoil Mhuire and Faugher National School sang The Town I Loved So Well, accompanied by pianist Claire Bowes, who lost her sight in the 1998 Omagh bomb.
“Hopefully the people of Creeslough have a bit of hope that things will improve,” she told BBC News NI.
“Things will never be the same again. But that is OK. It is now part of their story forever but their lives will continue and these darker days will pass”.
Mrs Bowes said music offered hope and healing.
“And while it [the explosion] will always be part of their story, they will hopefully thrive.”
The concert opened with a moment of reflection as the names of those who died were read to the crowd.
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Among the performers are Boyzlife stars Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy as well as singer Brian Kennedy, Clannad’s Moya Brennan, Mickey Joe Harte and The Whistlin’ Donkeys.
Brian McFadden has a special connection to the Donegal village.
Speaking before the concert, he said that his father and his extended family were from Creeslough.
“It hit home a lot, obviously, what happened,” he said.
“I spoke to Keith [Duffy] and I said: ‘I saw how everybody in the community got together on the night and helped so I wanted to do something’. So I said to Keith: ‘The only thing we can do is music.'”
“We called up as many people as we knew who would have some kind of a connection to Donegal and here we are tonight to hopefully bring a little bit of joy and a little bit of happiness during this dark time.”
The singer said he had gone into Creeslough earlier on Monday and it was evident how much the tragedy had affected everyone there.
“We’re hoping that tonight we can – as Keith said – just for five minutes, let’s just switch off from all that pain and just let people have a good night.
“They can hopefully have a little bit of fun tonight and have a little smile on their face and just a little glimmer of hope during this dark time.”
Belfast singer Brian Kennedy said the performers wanted the people of Creeslough to know that they’re not forgotten.
“They’ve had such a terrible loss and we won’t ever forget that,” he said.
“Tonight we just want to bring a wee bit of healing, if we can, to the crowd.”
He added that he wanted to see “a few shoulders drop and a few brows unfurrow” if it is possible.
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