A young woman who was killed in Friday’s explosion in Co Donegal will be remembered for the “ripples of love, affection and warmth” she left behind, funeral mourners have heard.
Requiem Mass for Jessica Gallagher, 24, has taken place at St Michael’s Church in Creeslough.
Ten people were killed in the blast at a service station in the small village.
The funeral of a second victim, Martin McGill, 49, will take place at the same church on Tuesday afternoon.
On the stroke of 11am Jessica’s heartbroken family accompanied her wicker coffin into the church.
A picture of the beautiful and bubbly young woman was placed upon her coffin beside a generous wreath of flowers.
A shirt which was one of her first commissions and which the young designer was still working on when her young life was so brutally cut short was also beside her coffin.
Curate Fr John Joe Duffy was joined on the altar by a number of other priests as well as by the Bishop of Raphoe, Alan McGuckian.
He said Ms Gallagher always had a “radiant smile”.
“She always brought the sun, whether things were happy or difficult,” the priest added.
Mourners were told how the fashion designer, who was to start a new job in Belfast on Monday, used Donegal tweed as a feature in her studies and work.
The county was “in her heart”, Fr Duffy continued.
Sincere sympathies were paid to Jessica’s parents, Anthony and Bernie, her sisters Shauna Marie and Lisa, and to Lisa’s husband Enda.
The Funeral Mass prayed for Jessica’s boyfriend Conor McFadden, who is recovering from serious injuries he sustained in the blast. Conor thought the world of Jessica, Fr Duffy said.
To her father Anthony, Jessica was one of three precious jewels, to her family and friends, she was loved dearly as a source of love, affection, kindness and warmth.
Fr Duffy described Jessica as a young woman who was bursting with energy and imagination, a practical joker and an animal lover.
“Despite her slender stature, she was very strong in her opinions and her own self-belief.
“In her determination, in her confidence, she was unstoppable.”
Jessica was incredibly hard-working as she strived towards her goal to be a top fashion designer, Fr Duffy said.
She came to note while studying fashion in Paris and was soon given a place to study further in Shanghai. After her time in China, she was delighted to get back to the quiet landscape of Creeslough, but the kindness she carried on her travels had earned her friendships all over the world.
“It was only the start of greater things to come,” Fr Duffy said.
Fr Duffy said home village, sitting in the distant shadow of Muckish Mountain, was always in Jessica’s heart.
“She had that creativity which came to get so easily. As a child she painted a brilliant amount of Christmas cards with moonlight scenes of Muckish she could see so clearly from her home, they were cherished by everyone who received them,” Fr Duffy said.
“No matter where she travelled she loved her beautiful family and her home best.
“It was in that home she first received love. She used Donegal tweed in her designs which helped her to get to Paris and it always remained a feature in her designs.”
Fr Duffy said Pope Francis had conveyed he had been left “heartbroken” by the events.
The Irish President, Michael D Higgins, was represented at the service by his aide-de-camp, Colonel Stephen Howard, aide de camp to An Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Commandant Claire Mortimer.
Agriculture Minister Charlie McConlaogue, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Designate Michelle O’Neill, Cathaoirleach of Donegal Cllr Liam Blaney, County Manager John McLaughlin and representatives of An Garda Siochana and emergency, rescue and fire services from the Republic and the North of Ireland also attended.
Others included representatives of the local Gardai including Superintendent David Kelly and Inspector Seamus McGonigle, Deputy Joe McHugh, Deputy Pearse Doherty, Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn and Senator Niall Blaney.
Gardai continue to investigate the blast, which happened at a building complex containing a service station, a convenience store and residential apartments.
The store, which included a post office, was the main shop serving the 400-strong village, which has been mourning an unprecedented loss of life among its members.
Eight people who were injured in the explosion remain in hospital.
A man in his 20s is critically ill in St James’s Hospital in Dublin.
Mr McGill, who was originally from Scotland, was described as a devoted son who cared for his elderly mother.
He regularly visited the village pharmacy to collect medication for her.
He moved to Creeslough to look after both his parents but his father had since died.
Mr McGill was a supporter of Celtic FC, which said it would pay tribute to the victims by holding a period of silence before Tuesday’s Champions League tie against RB Leipzig.
The club’s players will also wear black armbands during the match and it will also donate £10,000 to a fund set up for the families of the victims.
The other eight victims were 50-year-old Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe; 14-year-old Leona Harper; 48-year-old James O’Flaherty; 39-year-old Catherine O’Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan; 59-year-old Hugh Kelly and 49-year-old Martina Martin.
On Monday, nurses from Letterkenny Hospital lined the road as the remains of Mr O’Flaherty, who was originally from Sydney in Australia, were taken from a chapel in the town.
His wife Tracey is a nurse in the hospital and her colleagues lined the road outside the chapel as the hearse drove past.
His funeral is due to take place on Wednesday morning with a service set for the afternoon for Ms O’Donnell and her son James.
Leona Harper and Martina Martin will be buried on Thursday.
Irish President Michael D Higgins is expected to attend eight of the funerals, missing those being held on Tuesday due to a prior engagement in France
A candlelit vigil was held on the steps of the Guildhall on Monday evening at 8 pm which had been organised by Mayor Sandra Duffy.
Earlier in the day Mayor Duffy opened a Book of Condolence in the Guildhall for people to sign and leave their own personal messages to the families of the ten Creeslough victims.
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