Martina Martin was remembered as the heart of the shop in the heart of the community of Creeslough, left devastated by the explosion which killed her and nine other people a week ago.
The 49-year-old mother-of-four had returned to her Co Donegal ‘home place’ 14 years ago following the death of her father Michael Russell
And in a short space of time she became the town’s ‘mother hen’, the go-to source of help, cheer, common sense, straight talking, fun and deep compassion.
READ MORE: Son, 12, of Creeslough victim tells mourners "be grateful for your life"
Fr John Joe Duffy said Martina would be sorely missed, and told hundreds of mourners: “She loved the people of this community and we, each and every one of us who knew her, very much loved her. She was very special to us. She was very special to her colleagues and she was very special to us all.
“If we were having a bad day, her quick wit would lift us up and she cared for her customers in another way. Martina had in her that resolve and that determination to overcome all challenges in life. We will always remember her and we will always pray for her.
“Martina was an example of God’s love in our world and indeed how bleak the world would be without love, how empty a place it would be without love and without the love that Martina shared with so many.”
Fr Duffy said Martina, who was due to mark her 50th birthday in a week’s time, was sensitive to the needs of others, demonstrated hard work and patience, teaching her children responsibility with little instructions left on a kitchen noticeboard listing everyone’s chores from washing the dishes to walking the family dog Dusty.
He said her youngsters described her as the “ultimate mammy bear”, and added: “She stuck up for you through thick and thin and protected you, she kept you safe and taught you right from wrong. She offered you that love, helping you prepare for the realities of life and she did so very well. For real love for her was a way of life. Her quick wit, her straight talking was done and given with love and with goodness.
“She was preparing you for life. She will be very proud of each one of us. She is very proud of each one of the four of you. She will continue to be proud of each of you and your achievements and she would want you to do and achieve the very best in life for yourself, always remember that.”
During the Requiem Mass for Martina, gentle laughter rippled through St Michael’s Church in Creeslough as Fr Duffy recalled her determination to help shoppers stretch their budget for the best value possible.
He said: “If you picked up a bar of chocolate, and there was a bigger bar available at the same price, or a better bargain, she’d say’ ‘You know you can get a bigger one,’ That was Martina looking out for people, and she loved her chocolates and we know she loved her sweets
“Her friends describe her as a mother hen to the core. She lived for you, she lived for you, her children and her close friends, family and friends never missing a birthday, and loving to meet for what, a coffee of course, to catch up.
“Martina was a beautiful person, her beauty inside radiated and that kind of cheeky, mischievous smile which flowed out to you when you met her. “She was the voice of reason when others were hurting. She entered into the situation. She was a straight talker, never minced her words, and she was the kindest friend you could ever have, the life and soul of any night out. She didn’t dwell on the problems she was facing but put others first, her answers to problems was just build a bridge and get over it.
“And Martina was in a very happy place in this community and she was in a very happy place at this time.
“She was a loyal sister and always had your backs caring for you, looking out for you and being there for you as you were there for her, and of course loving her dear mother. That is so very sad, it was so very hard for a mother to say goodbye to a daughter and you as well as the children and Derek are so very much in our hearts and we hold you in a very special place.”
Martina’s co-workers had provided a guard of honour as her coffin was brought into the church for the 11am service, and representatives of Mulroy College in Milford, where two of her children attend, were also part of the honour guard. The Defence Forces were represented at the funeral, with her two eldest sons who serve, helping carry their mother’s coffin. President Michael D Higgins, also attended.
Symbols of Martina’s life were carried to the altar by her daughter and other family members including a photograph of her children - Sean, Neil, Oisin and Grainne.
Her love of Harry Potter was represented by her Harry Potter train and pillow which were taken to the altar with her coffee cup, which was rarely out of her hands, and a box of Black Magic Chocolates representing her love of dark chocolate.
Friday marks a week from the explosion at the apartments in Creeslough which saw the Applegreen service station shop collapse.
Martina was the first fatal casualty to be taken from the devastated building by emergency services. Another nine followed; five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe and her dad, Robert, 50; 14-year-old James Monaghan, and his mum Catherine O’Donnell, 39; Leona Harper, 14; Jessica Gallagher, 24; James O’Flaherty, 48; Martin McGill, 49 and 59-year-old Hugh Kelly who is due to be buried on Friday after Requiem Mass at St Michael’s Church.
Fr Duffy said the explosion and the subsequent pain and anguish that has enveloped the community since October 7, has changed the history of the place forever.
He said: “All things changed, events outside our control, outside the control indeed of any one of us, those few seconds of time last Friday have impacted so much on you as a family and on so many other families and on all of us.
“Seconds that changed in time, that led to the changing for future generations of our village, our community and communities beyond. The events of last Friday will be forever etched in our hearts.
“Creeslough is a small village, but it is now more than just that. It is now a word for determination, for resolve and for togetherness and how important togetherness is.
“This tragedy has reignited within all of us, myself included, that each one of us are only as strong as the families we have around us, only as strong as the community that surrounds us.”
Fr Duffy, who has celebrated five Requiem Masses for parishioners at St Michael’s this week, ended the service with thanks to the staff of Letterkenny University Hospital and urged locals who seek counselling after the horrific week they have experienced.
He said: “I want to thank Sean Murphy, the Chief Executive of Letterkenny and all the hospital staff who received the people who needed help, to the people in the emergency department and your people here on the ground. The level of co-operation between what was going on here and at the hospital was incredible. Thanks too to the mortuary staff who worked throughout the night.
“Sincere thanks to our own doctor who has the medical practice open and who is urging all of us to make contact with them, which I will do myself today, for the counselling services that the HSE are providing."
Read next:
- Applegreen donates €50,000 to Creeslough victims fund
- Girl, 5, and dad killed in Creeslough explosion as more victims named
- Creeslough tragedy dead named as families and friends pay tribute
- Vigil for Creeslough victims to be held at Derry's Guildhall
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