Man arrested by gardai investigating Creeslough explosion
Gardai investigating an explosion at a service station in Co Donegal in which 10 people died have arrested a man in his 60s.
Four men, three women and three young people, their ages ranging from five to 59, died in the blast on the afternoon of Friday October 7, 2022 in the village of Creeslough.
The man was arrested on Friday for alleged offences contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
The man is being held at a Garda station in the north-western region
The investigation into the explosion, which ripped through the service station and an adjacent apartment block, is being co-ordinated from Milford Garda station, where an incident room is in operation.
The inquiry is being led by local gardai, supported by a number of different agencies, including Ireland's Health and Safety Authority.
The 10 victims of the explosion were Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe, Catherine O'Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan, fashion student Jessica Gallagher, Celtic fan Martin McGill, James O'Flaherty from Sydney, Australia, shop worker Martina Martin, carpenter Hugh 'Hughie' Kelly and 14-year-old Leona Harper.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Man (30s) and woman in late teens arrested after €240k cannabis seizure
A man in his 30s and a woman in her late teens were arrested by gardaí following the seizure of 12kg of herbal cannabis by Revenue officers in separate locations in Swords, Co Dublin, on Monday, June 9th. The cannabis has an estimated value of €240,000, and the seizure was the result of a joint operation conducted by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, Revenue's Customs Service and Coolock District Drug Unit. Advertisement Both the man and woman are currently detained in garda stations in North Dublin under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996. Investigations are ongoing, gardaí said.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Jozef Puska's brother withheld information to protect himself, court told
Jozef Puska's brother, Marek, was protecting himself, not Jozef, when he withheld information from gardaí who were investigating the murder of Ashling Murphy, a lawyer has told the Central Criminal Court. Defence counsel Karl Finnegan SC told a jury that Marek Puska (36) was entitled to remain silent to avoid incriminating himself. Mr Finnegan said there was a real risk that the information his client had could implicate him in an offence of assisting his brother after the murder. Advertisement Mr Finnegan said the jury might not like the defence put forward but, he said, it is a legitimate legal defence and they must apply the law. Mr Finnegan also asked the jury to consider the possibility that Marek did not believe his brother had stabbed Ashling Murphy to death when he spoke to gardaí two days after the murder. Prosecutor Anne Marie Lawlor SC told the jury that Marek knew what Jozef had done shortly after 9.30pm on the night of the murder because Jozef told him. Despite this, Ms Lawlor said Marek and another brother, Lubomir Jnr (38), failed to disclose vital information when they spoke to gardaí. Their wives, Jozefina Grundzova (32) and Viera Gaziova (40), burned Jozef's clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution, she said. Advertisement Ms Gaziova and Ms Grundzova are charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Jozef Puska by burning his clothes. Lubomir jnr and Marek are charged with withholding information. All the accused were living with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly when the offences are alleged to have occurred in January 2022. All accused have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Jozef Puska murdered Ashling Murphy, a 23-year-old schoolteacher, by stabbing and slashing her neck after attacking her while she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore on the afternoon of January 12th, 2022. A jury later convicted him of that murder and he is serving a life sentence. Advertisement Delivering her closing speech on Monday, Ms Lawlor told the jury of seven men and five women that there is an onus to provide information about serious offences such as murder. Marek and Lubomir Jnr each had information about the murder, she said, including that Jozef had confessed that he "killed a girl". She asked the jury what possible reasonable excuse either brother could have for failing to tell gardaí what they knew when they gave voluntary statements on January 14th. Common sense, she said, would indicate that their reason for not telling gardai was that they didn't want their brother to be arrested or prosecuted. Advertisement The information they had was vital to gardaí, Ms Lawlor said, to power the investigation into the murder of a 23-year-old woman who was found "dead in a ditch in inexplicable circumstances". She said it is "patently obvious" that the information they had was material to the investigation. When Viera and Jozefina burned Jozef's clothes, "they knew why they were doing it," Ms Lawlor said, and acted without any reasonable excuse. They both admitted to burning Jozef's clothes and they knew through their husbands that Jozef had admitted to "stabbing or killing a girl". "As night follows day," Ms Lawlor said the burning of the clothes is linked to their knowledge of what Jozef had done. She urged the jury to use their common sense and return guilty verdicts. Advertisement Mr Finnegan was the only one of the defence counsels to give a speech today. He said the legislation regarding withholding information was introduced following the Omagh bombing to force people with knowledge of that atrocity to come forward. However, Mr Finnegan said, the legislation does not remove a person's right to remain silent if they believe that they could incriminate themselves. At the time, Mr Finnegan said, there was a real risk that his client would be arrested for assisting Puska after the murder by arranging to get him out of Tullamore or because he knew of the plan to burn Jozef's clothes. This was a "reasonable excuse" for his failure to disclose information, counsel said, and is a legitimate defence in law. Marek's statements were an attempt to distance himself from Jozef Puska, Mr Finnegan said, adding: "He was distancing himself from culpability or knowledge of what Jozef Puska was doing that day." Mr Finnegan continued: "There are elements of this defence that you might not like, but you are here to do a job and I am asking you to apply the law to the evidence." Closing speeches for the other three accused will begin on Tuesday.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Explosive Sun Madeleine McCann doc reveals bombshell new evidence and why Christian Brueckner is prime suspect
EXPLOSIVE new Madeleine McCann evidence can finally be revealed in a bombshell documentary. The Sun's world exclusive doc lifts the lid on gripping new information and reveals why Christian Brueckner is the prime suspect. 6 6 6 Our compelling investigation unveils the horrors found at his abandoned factory lair - and his obsession with small children. Watch The Sun's exclusive documentary here The dossier of overwhelming circumstantial evidence includes exclusive images of kids' swimming costumes, a toddler bike and toys found at his property. We also reveal how cops found a mask, guns and child kidnap stories where Brueckner describes using kidnap chemical ether to take a mum and tot outside a preschool. Ourfilmreveals the existence of an 80gb hard drive containing images and a laptop key, which may be key in persuading investigators of Madeleine's death. And it also placed Breuckner at the key Maddie search location of the Arades Dam, in Portugal. A document puts the suspectat the location where he allegedly confessed by supposedly saying ' she did not scream ' as he discussed the British toddler with an associate. We also reveal sick child kidnap stories where Breuckner wrote: 'A very small girl enters the room. She's definitely not older than five. 'Blonde, long hair tied in pigtails bounces cheekily back and forth as she comes towards me. I feel like I'm in paradise right now." Madeleine McCann cops call off search as trawl of Brueckner's 'rat run' turns up nothing Online messages we uncovered from Brueckner show him bragging to another sicko that he really wanted to 'capture something small and use it for days'. He even threatened it wouldn't matter 'if the evidence is destroyed afterwards' and gleefully added: 'I'll make a lot of films... hehe.' Our documentary on the police files represents the biggest leap forwards in understanding of the case since German police revealed Brueckner as a suspect in 2020. It contains an interview with Irish holiday rep Hazel Behan, 41, who Brueckner was cleared of raping in 2005 at trial in Germany last year. Hear from experts at The Sun and in Germany about the ongoing race against time to stop dangerous Brueckner being released in as little as three months. 6 6 6 And learn more about fears he could potentially take hopes for the McCann case to ground with him. Christian Brueckner refuses to answer police questions or provide an alibi, but has never been formally charged over the disappearance of murder of Madeleine McCann. He has insisted his innocence in letters while his lawyers continue to maintain he had nothing to do with the taking or killing of Maddie. The most recent search for evidence was a three-day dig last week in an area of scrubland near Praia da Luz where Brueckner was known to have wild camped. German and Portuguese police used JCB-type machines and ground-penetrating radar, but found "nothing of consequence" - dashing hopes of pinning Brueckner with DNA evidence. TIMELINE OF EVENTS Here's a timeline of the case which has gripped the world. May 3, 2007 Madeleine McCann disappears from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history. January 15, 2016 Neighbour reports a possible 'grave' at Brueckner's abandoned factory in East Germany. Cops find disturbing images on USB sticks and launch a full-scale search. February 16, 2016 Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop. He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then. May 3, 2017 Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner. September 27, 2018 On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy. He is extradited to Germany the following year. December 16, 2019 Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed. He was sentenced to seven years behind bars. June 4, 2020 German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann. For the first time they claim Madeleine is dead. German media later name him as Christian B (Christian Brueckner). June 23, 2023 In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying 'she didn't scream' as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain. February 16, 2024 Brueckner goes on trial accused of none-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany. Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges. October 8, 2024 Brueckner was acquitted of all claims. Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending. September 17, 2025 Date on which Christian Brueckner will be released from custody without action being taken. Prosecutors require an arrest warrant for a retrial over claims from last year - or over the McCann case.
