Daniel O’Donnell Reflects on Creeslough Tragedy: ‘Their Lives Will Never Be the Same Again’
Irish country music star Daniel O’Donnell has spoken publicly about the profound grief and disbelief he felt upon learning of the tragic explosion in Creeslough, County Donegal — a devastating incident that claimed the lives of ten people and left a deep scar on a small, tight-knit community.
The beloved singer, who hails from nearby Kincasslagh, shared his emotional recollection during an interview with BBC’s Good Morning Ulster, revealing that he first heard the news while in transit from the United States. “I was in the airport in Chicago when my niece called me,” O’Donnell recalled. “She said there has been a terrible explosion in Creeslough, at the service station.”
Like many, his first instinct was hope — hoping that the damage wasn’t severe, that lives hadn’t been lost. But the reality unfolded quickly and painfully. “Initially you are hoping that there will be no fatalities, that people won’t be badly injured,” he said. “And then very, very quickly, as the story unfolded, we realised it was worse than anybody could ever believe.”
Before he had even left Chicago, news emerged that three people had died and several others had been taken to hospital. By the time he arrived back in Ireland, the full scale of the tragedy had become heartbreakingly clear: ten lives lost, countless others forever changed.
For O’Donnell, the shock was personal. Just weeks before the explosion, he had stopped at the same service station while traveling to play golf in Rosapenna. “I went into that shop, I was passing by in August,” he said. “I got diesel, I went into the shop and got whatever I wanted. That’s what people did last Friday — they did exactly what I did.”
It’s that sense of everyday normality that makes the tragedy so haunting. Ordinary people going about ordinary routines — buying groceries, filling their tanks — in a place that should have been safe. “All the people, their lives will never be the same for the rest of their time on earth,” O’Donnell said, his voice heavy with sorrow. “I was just saying to somebody — when will there ever be a happy day in Creeslough again?”
Despite the darkness, the singer was deeply moved by the response of the local community. He praised the courage and solidarity of the people who were first on the scene — neighbors, friends, volunteers — who rushed in without hesitation, driven by a selfless determination to help.
“The amazing thing is the community, how it comes together,” he said. “The local people were the first people to be there, to go into where the accident happened without a thought of their own wellbeing, other than to think about the people who were inside.”
As the nation continues to grieve, O’Donnell’s heartfelt words serve as both a tribute to those lost and a reflection of the enduring spirit of Creeslough. The tragedy has cast a long shadow over Donegal and beyond, but it has also reminded the world of the strength that small communities hold in times of unspeakable sorrow.
For Daniel O’Donnell and countless others who call this part of Ireland home, the memory of that day — and the people affected — will never fade.