Creeslough victim was ‘full of love, kindness and compassion’, funeral told

A man killed in the Creeslough explosion was full of love, kindness and compassion, his funeral has been told.

Father John Joe Duffy told the service at St Michael’s Church in the Co Donegal village that Martin McGill, 49, had the “most beautiful soul”.

Mr McGill, who was originally from Scotland and an avid Celtic fan, was the second of 10 victims of Friday’s tragedy to be laid to rest on Tuesday.

A lone piper led the funeral cortege to the church.

Fr John Joe Duffy welcomed mourners at the start of the service and offered sympathy to Mr McGill’s mother Mary and to his sisters Marie Louise and Caroline.

In his homily, Father Duffy told mourners how Mr McGill was dedicated to caring for his beloved mother.

“Martin was a carer who was full of love, full of kindness and full of compassion,” he said.

“Despite the awful, horrible tragedy that has struck at the very heart of this community, and broken our hearts, from the very first moment aren’t those the key words that have been in action in this community but have always been in action in this community.”

Fr Duffy said Mr McGill had now been reunited with his recently deceased father Joseph.

“His strength was in that he was a caring person,” he added.

“And the fact that he was a caring person, a person of kindness and compassion, gave him strength when he had to face bereavement and not very long ago when he had to say goodbye to his dad which was most difficult for him.”

The cleric said Mr Magill was “a gentle soul, a kind person”.

He added: “A person where you could see the goodness flowing out from him. It was effervescent. It was like when you tighten a bottle and you give it a shake as a child and make it go all over the place when you open it up.

“He was just so caring. The caring flowed out from him. Each Sunday he would be in this church, he would be down there lighting candles. I think he lit more candles than I ever lit anyway in my life. I don’t think anyone could break that record.”

Mr McGill was originally from Kirkintilloch near Glasgow.

Fr Duffy said it would have meant a lot of him that the Old Firm club had made a donation to a support fund for the Creeslough victims and that its players will wear black armbands at their next match as a mark of respect.

He said Mr McGill was a familiar sight in Creeslough wearing his Celtic top and carrying a bottle of Lucozade.

He said he was routinely in the shop where he ultimately died, doing messages for other people.

“It was I suppose against the odds that Martin would not have been in the shop, for he went to the shop five times a day or more to bring those errands out for people,” he said.

“He was someone who just loved life and loved the simple things of life.”

At the end of the service Fr Duffy said he had been asked by the family to thank all who had offered support in recent days.

Bishop of Raphoe Alan McGuckian then led the congregation in prayer before mourners sang along to the song You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Mr McGill’s remains were then taken for burial at Doe Cemetery.