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PA & Jon Brady

Funeral held for 'caring' Scots Celtic fan who died in Irish petrol station explosion

The funeral service for a Glasgow man who died in a petrol station explosion in Ireland is underway in County Donegal.

Martin McGill, 49, was a devoted Celtic fan who had moved to Ireland to care for his late father Joseph and mum Mary. His service, at St Michael's Church in the village of Creeslough, began at 2pm -- four days after the fatal blast at the Applegreen service station.

Martin, originally from Kirkintilloch just outside Glasgow, is the second victim of the petrol station tragedy to be laid to rest after the service for Jessica Gallagher earlier on Tuesday. A lone piper led his coffin into the chapel, and a Celtic top was brought to the front of the building as a tribute to the love for his team.

Father John Joe Duffy, who is leading the service, welcomed mourners and offered his sympathy to Mary. In his homily, Father John Joe Duffy told mourners how Martin McGill was dedicated to caring for his beloved mum.

He said: "Martin was a carer who was filled with love, filled with kindness and compassion. 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.

Martin McGill, originally from Scotland, died in the Creeslough blast (An Garda Siochana /PA Wire)

"His strength was in that he was a caring person. 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.

"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 to more candles than I ever lit anyway in my life. I don't think anyone could break that record."

Celtic FC has made a donation of £10,000 to a support fund for victims of the Creeslough explosion, and players have pledged to wear a black armband as a mark of respect at their next match. Fr Duffy said the gesture would have "meant a lot" to Martin.

Martin had reportedly dropped by the petrol station to use the ATM when disaster struck. The tragedy became apparent when his car was seen at the petrol station after the blast.

Family members walked behind Martin's hearse (Niall Carson/PA Wire)

Father Duffy added: "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 was someone who just loved life and loved the simple things of life.

"And they reckon he was great at keepy-ups and the cousins couldn't beat him either and he was very proud of that."

Bishop of Raphoe Alan McGuckian then led the congregation in prayer. Mourners sang along to You'll Never Walk Alone to end the service.

A large crowd followed the procession to St Michael's Church (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Mr McGill will be buried at Doe Cemetery. He is among 10 people to have been killed.

The other victims were: Catherine O'Donnell (39), and her 14-year-old son James Monaghan; Robert Garwe (50) and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe; Leona Harper (14); Jessica Gallagher (24); James O'Flaherty (48); Martin McGill (49); Martina Martin (49) and Hugh Kelly (59).

Irish police are still investigating the cause of the explosion.

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