The funeral of another of the victims of the Creeslough explosion is taking place in Co Donegal.
Martina Martin’s requiem mass is taking place at St Michael’s Church in the village.
The 49-year-old mother-of-four was working in shop at the Applegreen service station when the blast occurred.
Those gathered at St Michael’s Church in Creeslough were told of her determination and resilience to overcome all the challenges of life.
Fr John Joe Duffy said that she had an abundance of love and was sensitive to the needs of others.
She was just a natural, beautiful and lovely person who worked in the heart of our community and who was so well loved and liked, Fr Duffy said.
He said Mrs Martin was working as normal on Friday doing what she liked and loved, and which is routine to all of us, but then an ordinary day ended up very differently, all things changed in seconds, changed for future generations of our village.
It was a disaster of great magnitude which changed everything, but from this tragedy, he said, we see this community growing in strength.
“We are receiving the radiance of support from around the world and Creeslough is now a word of determination and resilience”.
In his homily Fr Duffy said Martina had a quick wit and was a straight talker, but she did it with love and goodness.
She was a beautiful person with a cheeky, mischevious smile, she was the voice of reason when others were hurting and she put others first.
She was in a happy place in this community and at this time, he said.
Fr Duffy told her four children that she was so proud of them, loved them dearly and was the “ultimate mammy bear” sticking up for you through thick and thin and preparing you for life.
Symbols of her life were brought to the altar by her daughter Grainne and other members of her family.
Grainne carried a picture of the children – Sean, Neil, Oisin and herself – who, Fr Duffy said, were “her pride and joy”.
Mrs Martin had a love of Harry Potter and her Harry Potter train and pillow were brought up along with a her coffee cup, which was rarely out of her hands, and a box of Black Magic Chocolates representing her love of dark chocolate.
President Michael D Higgins is among those attending.
Ahead of the mass, Mrs Martin’s family walked behind the cortège along the main street, followed by a large crowd of mourners.
Her co-workers provided a guard of honour as her coffin was brought into the church and representatives of Mulroy College in Milford, where two of her children attend, were also part of the honour guard.
The Defence Forces are also represented at the funeral.
Two of Mrs Martin’s sons serve in the Defence Forces and helped carry their mother’s coffin.
This afternoon, 14-year-old Leona Harper will be buried after funeral mass at St Mary’s Church in Ramelton, near Letterkenny.
She was visiting a friend for a sleepover and had gone to the shop for an ice-cream when she was caught in the explosion.
Her parents described her as a “gem” of a daughter.
They thanked the digger driver who refused to stop working last week until her body was recovered.
She was the last of the ten people who were killed to be recovered from the rubble of the collapsed building.
Yesterday evening, President Higgins met and thanked members of the emergency services who had rushed to help as the tragedy unfolded.
During an informal reception at Letterkenny Fire Station, he told them they were a credit to the country and what they had done had been greatly appreciated and would long be remembered.
The ten people who died in Friday’s explosion at the Applegreen Service Station and apartment block were Catherine O’Donnell, 39, and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan; Robert Garwe, 50, and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe; 14-year-old Leona Harper; Jessica Gallagher, 24; James O’Flaherty, 48; Martin McGill, 49; Martina Martin, 49, and 59-year-old Hugh Kelly.
‘Traumatic’ week for Ireland
Taoiseach Michael Martin said it has been a “traumatic” week for the country but particularly for the people of Creeslough after the “shocking accident”.
In an interview on Newstalk, he said he was struck by the stories of each individual when he visited Creeslough in the aftermath of the tragedy and also after meeting emergency services.
He said for those in the fire brigade to the people in the hospital that treated the injured, the scenes that they witnessed “will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”
Mr Martin also reflected on the “bond in the community itself” as the funerals take place and the stories of those who have lost their lives are told.
He spoke about 12-year-old Hamish O’Flaherty who, he said, struck him in the manner which he spoke “lovingly” of his father James who died, which he said “would break your heart”.
Additional reporting Conor Macauley
Funeral of Martina Martin under way in Creeslough
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