Buncrana students ‘very traumatised’ by events at Creeslough
The destruction at Creeslough following the explosion in the building on Friday.
Teenagers at Scoil Mhuire Buncrana have been left “very traumatised” following the disaster in Creeslough last Friday, school principal Rosaleen Grant has said.
Transition year students at the school visited the shop in Creeslough “many times” during a ‘glamping’ trip to the village a fortnight ago.
“They realise that it could just as easily have been any one of them,” said Mrs. Grant.
“They were in and out of the shop and the deli the whole time they were there. It just shows you how fragile life is and how something like this can happen so fast.”
“It’s unbelievable and the students are definitely shocked here. It was the place where they were themselves. It brings it home to you,” Mrs Grant said.
Alwyn Campbell (15) was among the over 100 pupils and teachers from Scoil Mhuire who visited Creeslough Supermarket during the recent two-day stay in Creeslough.
“We were all in the shop at different times over the two days,” said Alwyn, “I was in it three times with my friends. People got breakfast in it, coffee, ice-cream and sweets.”
“It’s shocking to think that some of the people who served us in the shop are dead or injured now. Our experience in the shop was very good. They were very friendly to us. We were served by a lovely wee man who was asking us where we were from.”
Alwyn mentioned how on one of the occasions she had bought ice-cream – the same innocent activity as one of the teenagers killed in the shop blast ten days later.
HEART GOES OUT TO THEM
Principal Grant said her “heart goes out” to those caught up in the tragedy.
“We have the utmost sympathy for Mulroy College. They had two students and two parents who died. We can only imagine what that would be like for our school if it happened here.”
She also said how Scoil Mhuire English and history teacher Aaron Sweeney is a past pupil of Mulroy and knows all of those who died.
“We are certainly all feeling it in the school.”
“It’s going to take a long time for Creeslough to ever get over it. There are still people in hospital and there’s a boy critical, so it’s not even over yet.”
“But we’ll give them whatever support we can. That’s what we do best up here,” Mrs Grant said.
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