Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When the Taoiseach and other political leaders stood together on Saturday night in Creeslough, with families and a community that had suffered a terrible loss, he was representing Irish people everywhere. There are no words that could properly express the heartbreak, pain and sorrow felt by so many. Ten precious lives are gone and a small community is devastated. The shock from this small village was felt across Ireland and beyond. Irish people everywhere are stunned. Many naturally feel that Creeslough could be their community, their place, their loved ones.

Like many Deputies, I am very familiar with Creeslough. I have family living close by, and I have had the honour of representing the area as an MEP. Creeslough is well known to people from right across Ireland and further afield because many will have spent time there in what is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Until last Friday afternoon, our enduring memories of Creeslough were happy ones - thoughts of a welcoming, friendly community that made everybody who had the privilege of visiting the area feel at home.

While the nation was shocked by the tragedy that has scarred that village forever, none of us was surprised by the instinctive reaction of those first on the scene. The response of the community in Creeslough has been immense. Minutes after the explosion, people came to help clear a path and secure the building in order that firefighters could get access. They did this without any thought for their own safety. Local nurses stayed on the scene all night, helping where they could. Neighbours opened their doors to locals and strangers alike and small businesses went well beyond the call of duty to support all those who came to help.

Fr. John Joe Duffy has been an incredible leader in his community. Our solidarity is with him as he leads his parish in the coming days. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I pay tribute to the emergency services, North and South - the gardaí, firefighters, Civil Defence, ambulance personnel, doctors and paramedics, some of whom put their own lives on the line throughout Friday night as the search continued. The pain was etched on their faces on Saturday evening as they talked about what had unfolded - the acts of bravery over so many long hours as the search went on, and the harrowing outcome. What they did in Creeslough will never be forgotten; not in that small community or anywhere else in the land.

Today, the families of Jessica Gallagher and Martin McGill have the awful task of burying their loved ones. The unspeakable grief will continue this week as the families of Leona Harper, Robert Garwe, little Shauna Flanagan Garwe, James O'Flaherty, Martina Martin, Hugh Kelly, Catherine O'Donnell and her son James Monaghan, will walk with their loved ones to their final resting place. Our thoughts and prayers are with them today and in the difficult days that lie ahead. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha.

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