Gas station explosion: Creeslough father and daughter funeral today, 'dad had a beautiful love for his little princess'

          Photograph : rip.ie

A five-year-old girl and her father who died together as they shopped for a birthday cake have been remembered “side by side” during their joint funeral service.

Shauna Flanagan Garwe was the youngest of the 10 victims of the service station explosion in Creeslough, Co Donegal last week.

Her father Robert Garwe had taken her to buy a birthday cake for her mother when they were caught in the blast on October 7th.

President Michael D Higgins is among the mourners at the funeral service for the youngest of the 10 victims of the blast, Shauna, and her father at St Michael’s Church.

For the sixth burial service performed at St. Michael's for victims of the tragedy in just five days, locals in the little rural community in Co. Donegal once again lined the main street.

   Photograph: Niall Carson/PA

The father and daughter victims of the Creeslough explosion arrived side by side in two hearses with their coffins at St. Michael's Church.

Before their requiem Mass, the child's tiny casket was taken into the church first, then her father's.

At front of the altar in the church, there were several pictures of Shauna and bouquets of flowers. The altar had 10 candles, one for each of the tragedy's victims.

As he welcomed the crowd, parish priest Fr. John Joe Duffy also welcomed family members who had travelled, including those from Zimbabwe, and expressed his "most profound sympathy" to Mr. Garwe's spouse Aine "on the death of your partner and your beautiful daughter."

A scooter that "was very much part and parcel of their life" was among the symbols that represented many facets of Mr. Garwe and Shauna's existence.

Shauna could outrun her father on foot at the school gate, on the street where I frequently saw them and met them, or in the store where she assisted the girls in helping to stack the shelves, Fr. Duffy told the mourners. "I'm not sure who could go faster on the scooter, but I know Shauna could outrun her dad on feet," he said.

The Creeslough chapel also included Shauna's favourite unicorn stuffed animal and a catapult for "hunting together."

Mourners at Friday’s funeral for the oldest victim, Hugh Kelly, heard he had taken Mr Garwe and Shauna to the service station shop to buy a birthday cake for the youngster’s mother.

Mr. Garwe (50), a native of Zimbabwe who works in construction, was frequently spotted riding a scooter through the community.

Just a few weeks ago, Shauna began attending Creeslough's Scoil Mhuire National School.

Robert and his daughter were pictured together by Fr. Duffy "while they were together in the shop. I'm certain that in that single second, all he wanted was to help safeguard his lovely daughter.

"Side by side here, we pray that they are side by side in heaven," he continued.

He read a message that had been left for Shauna and described her as someone who "liked to entertain."

He remarked that Shauna was frequently heard giggling and that she enjoyed wiggling when seated.

"She would ride her pink scooter to the gate and pull her little puppy pal Kylo along with her. She was vivacious and outgoing, and she adored playing and having fun with her pals every day.

She loved animals and art, the tribute said, adding, "A fantastic vet she would have been. She was a sweet person with a naughty side, and we will miss her terribly always.

"A very great girl who made an effect on everyone she encountered," he continued.

"She, her dad, and her mom were such a common sight up and down the road; they were always together, that little family," said one resident of the neighbourhood.

Robert, or Bob, Garwe was described as being proud of both his children and his Zimbabwean heritage.

Bob simply had that friendliness, staying healthy and fit was really important to him, and he had that great love for young Shauna, according to Fr. John Joe Duffy, who spoke with Bob frequently.

Following the explosion at the Creeslough gas station, President Higgins has referred to a "exceptional week" in Co. Donegal.

The profound loss that our community has experienced has in many ways resonated not just with our country but also with Irish people abroad, according to Mr. Higgins, who has visited the majority of the funerals. The messages that have come have been very meaningful to the community.

While a funeral Mass was performed for Catherine O'Donnell (39), and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan on Wednesday afternoon, the funerals for fashion student Jessica Gallagher (24), and Celtic supporter Martin McGill (49), were held in Creeslough on Tuesday.

James O'Flaherty, a 48-year-old native of Sydney, had a memorial service on Wednesday in Derrybeg.

Martina Martin, a mother of four and a shop worker, passed away on Thursday morning. Later that day, a service for Leona Harper, 14, was held at St. Mary's Church in Ramelton.

The neighbourhood is still in shock, according to Fr. Duffy.

He remarked, "There is still that gloom of stillness, that sadness, that heartbreak obvious to people who step into the homes to try and offer consolation and solace."

He advised everyone touched by the tragedy to get in touch with the appropriate counselling services, stating he himself would do so.

We need assistance, the continuous support of this nation and those outside of it, prayers, and most importantly, the professional supports that are being made so readily available to us. Thank you to everyone who is participating in that, he said.

Funerals have also been attended by Charlie McConalogue, the minister for agriculture, and aide de camp Commandant Claire Mortimer, the Taoiseach.

The explosion's cause is still under investigation by An Garda Siochana, who are treating it as an accident.

Along with the 10 people that died in the explosion, eight more people were hurt.

Seven have been receiving treatment in Letterkenny University Hospital, while a man in his 20s remains in a critical condition in St James’s Hospital, Dublin.