Creeslough father says grief 'frozen in time' four years after explosion killed daughter Leona

Four years after an explosion tore through a County Donegal village, killing ten people including his teenage daughter, Hugh Harper says his family is no closer to understanding what happened. Leona Harper was 14 years old when she died in the blast at a service station in Creeslough on 7 October 2022. She had travelled to the village for a sleepover and was heading into the shop to buy ice-cream when the explosion occurred.

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme, Mr Harper described the ongoing uncertainty as "torture and torment". He said families are left trying to piece together answers on their own, only to find themselves going down "a maze of rabbit holes" where one question leads to another without resolution. "We go home every evening to a house that's not the same - we are still trying to adjust to that," he said, adding that no parent expects such a tragedy to arrive at their door so suddenly.

The Harper family home remains largely as it was on the day Leona died. Her coat still hangs in the hallway, soil from the pitch of her last rugby game remains on her boots, and her bedroom has been left untouched. Mr Harper said that even now, his first thought each morning is of Leona and the unanswered questions surrounding her final moments. "Every day, we grieve for our little girl - we are stuck on the 7th October 2022," he said. "Until we have answers, our grief is frozen in time."

No official explanation has been given for the cause of the explosion, and nobody has been charged in connection with the blast despite a number of arrests. Gardaí, the Irish police force, sent a second file to the Director of Public Prosecutions in April, in addition to a primary file forwarded to prosecutors last September. The Department of Justice has said the focus of the investigation is on allowing the investigative processes to proceed independently and without prejudice so that the full facts can be established.

In a statement to BBC News NI, a spokesperson for the department said Minister Jim O'Callaghan's thoughts remain with the families, loved ones, survivors and the wider community of Creeslough as the anniversary approaches. An Garda Síochána said the victims, their families and the community are in its thoughts, and renewed an appeal for anyone with information about the fatal explosion to come forward and speak to investigators. A commemoration service is due to be held on Wednesday in Creeslough to remember the ten people who lost their lives.

Mr Harper and other bereaved families are campaigning for a public inquiry into the explosion. He argues that only a public inquiry can compel people to be questioned under oath and produce definitive answers. "We are steadfast on that - a public inquiry is the only tool to compel people to be questioned under oath and get definitive answers," he said. The campaign has already prompted engagement at the highest levels of the Irish government: in July, families met Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Dublin to discuss their concerns.

For Mr Harper, the push for a full investigation is also a personal commitment. He recalled being the first person to hold Leona when she was born, and making a promise to keep her safe. "I made her a promise that I would keep her safe and not let anything happen to her and unfortunately, I couldn't keep that promise," he said. "But even though Leona is not physically here, I feel she is still with me. And I will continue with the promise, even in death. I will do my best to protect her name and get to the bottom of exactly what happened in Creeslough that day. I will leave no stone unturned."

Leona's final journey is one her father recounts with painful clarity. She went to Creeslough on a Friday afternoon and walked into a shop - the last time her family saw or heard from her alive. The force of the blast caused extensive damage to the roof of the service station, leaving broken wooden trusses, a large metal beam and partly collapsed internal block walls visible as emergency workers surveyed the scene from a raised platform. The destruction underscored the scale of the tragedy that unfolded in the heart of the small Donegal community.

The commemoration on Wednesday will bring families and residents together once more, four years on from a day that reshaped the village. For the Harpers, the anniversary is both a moment of remembrance and a reminder of how far they remain from closure. Mr Harper said the family will travel to Creeslough to honour Leona and the other victims, holding on to the memory of a daughter whose presence, he believes, remains with him despite her absence.

The Creeslough case raises broader questions about how Ireland handles complex disaster investigations, particularly when no cause has been publicly confirmed years after the event. Families argue that without a public inquiry, they are left in a prolonged state of limbo, unable to move forward while the legal process continues behind closed doors. The two files now with the DPP mean prosecutors must assess whether there is sufficient evidence for charges, a process that can take considerable time and offers no guaranteed timeline for those waiting.

For bereaved relatives, that wait carries a heavy emotional cost. Mr Harper's description of grief "frozen in time" captures the experience of families who cannot properly mourn because the circumstances of their loved ones' deaths remain unexplained. Each passing anniversary compounds that sense of stagnation, as life around them continues while their own healing is suspended. Campaigners say the absence of an official narrative leaves room for speculation, adding to the distress of survivors and those who lost relatives.

The Irish government has not ruled out further action, but has stressed the importance of not prejudicing the ongoing investigation. That position places the families in a difficult position: they are asked to be patient while also being told that a public inquiry is the only mechanism that could give them the answers they seek. The tension between preserving the integrity of a criminal investigation and providing transparency to victims' families is at the centre of the dispute over how the Creeslough case should proceed.

As the anniversary service approaches, the Harper family's message is one of enduring determination. Mr Harper said he will keep fighting to protect his daughter's name and to establish exactly what happened on 7 October 2022. For now, they return to a home that still holds Leona's coat, her boots and her untouched room - quiet reminders of a life cut short, and of a father's promise that he says will never end.