To donate to the Irish Red Cross appeal, click here.

A FUND SET up to help provide support to the local community in Creeslough following the explosion last Friday has raised €352,000 in the first 24 hours. 

The Irish Red Cross set up the Creeslough Communtity Support Fund, with the support of An Post and Applegreen.

Donations can be made at post offices nationwide by cash or credit card. There will be no fee payable for making the donations. 

People can also donate online at the Irish Red Cross website.  

Applegreen, which saw its local partner station destroyed in Friday’s blast, has made an initial donation of €50,000 to the fund.

The fund will work to help those who have been bereaved, injured, made homeless or left without income as a result of the tragedy. 

The Irish Red Cross said it will work with the local community in Creeslough to ensure that monies collected for the new fund will be used effectively to help support those affected in the weeks and months ahead.

As of this afternoon, after 24 hours up and running, the fund has raised €352,000. 

“We are overwhelmed again at the generosity of the Irish public and corporates for their outpouring of huge support for the Creeslough Community Support Fund over the last 24 hours,” Charlie Lamson, head of fundraising for the Irish Red Cross, said.

“This fund will enable the channelling of funding to the local community to provide practical help and support and we will be working with them into the future on this,” Lamson said. 

To donate to the Irish Red Cross appeal, click here.

Cabinet has also agreed today that direct humanitarian aid will be provided to families in Creeslough who were impacted by the explosion. 

This fund was previously reserved for households that had been impacted by flooding.

Under the plan, households can earn up to €70,000 and still avail of the aid.

Announcing the fund this morning, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said: “This is to help people that that may need to purchase personal items or may need to buy something for their home or repair something that has been damaged.”

The Minister said that there are community welfare officers “on the ground” in Creeslough and that the Government will work to provide “any assistance we can in the days ahead”.

“The fact that we’re including the humanitarian fund as part of our other supports gives us even more flexibility to ensure that we can give them all the support that they need at this at this most difficult time,” added Humphreys.

Ten people died following the explosion in Creeslough, with the first funerals taking place in the village today. 

With reporting by Tadgh McNally