Leona Harper: Creeslough victim was ‘a little lady with a big heart’

A little lady with a big heart, 14-year-old Leona Harper was a ‘little miracle’ for her family.

One of the ten victims of the Creeslough explosion, Leona’s funeral mass at St Mary’s Church in Ramelton on Thursday heard of ‘a precious gem’ who pursued interests described as being ’many, varied and surprising’.

The hearse carrying Leona’s remains was accompanied by two Case tractors to signify her passion for tractors.

A car run, organised by the Donegal Car Club, followed the cortege before providing a guard of honour in Termon, where Leona was laid to rest.

“Leona was a little lady with a big heart who lived a full life,” Fr Michael Carney, Ramelton Parish Priest, said. 

“As with most fourteen-year-olds, there were four important anchors in her life: family, friends, hobbies and school.  They were at once separate and all interconnected. 

“Hugh and Donna talk of their daughter as their little miracle - and therein lies a story.  When Anthony was born, Donna was told that there was no prospect of her conceiving  another child. 

“But seven years later something unexpected happened: Leona arrived – hence the little miracle.  You, her Mum and Dad, talk of your daughter as a gem.  It is often a line and a term we use about someone we love.”

A Liverpool FC flag, carefully placed by Vinny Pyper, a Ramelton-based Liverpool supporter, fluttered from the railings outside the church. Search and rescue dogs stood obediently outside with their handlers after arriving from Newry, five days after they helped take Leona’s body from the rubble in Creeslough.

Classmates and staff from Mulroy College in Milford, where Leona had just begun her Junior Cert year, and staff and students from Scoil Mhuire in Ramelton, where Leona attended before moving to secondary school, formed guards of honour at the church. So, too, did members of Letterkenny Rugby Club, where Leona had been a player of promise.

Until last Friday when a horrific, unexplained and unimaginable twist ended her young life.

Donegal woke to pink skies on Thursday morning. As Leona’s remains were taken from the sandstone church, those outside  were huddled beneath umbrellas.

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Leona, Fr Carney said, was a ‘precious gem’ for her parents. The success of Katie Taylor and Kellie Harrington sparked an interest in boxing and she was set to take to the canvas at Letterkenny Boxing Club.

Fr Carney said: “Gems shine, gems sparkle and gems attract us.  Leona shone brightly and beautifully throughout her short life, sparkled with energy and fun and attracted so many friends to her circle. Donna and Hugh, you talk of Leona as quiet, no trouble and always helpful.” 

Her love of animals developed into a love of farming an agriculture. She hunted. She fished.

The peace and serenity of Gartan Lake was a favoured location.

She was into music and dance and her teachers remember ‘a lovely little girl, pleasant, quiet and self-effacing’. She was considering a career in teaching, Thursday’s funeral heard.

Her brothers, Anthony and Jamie, were ’special’ to Leona, who was full of mischief and craic.

School had ‘stoked and stirred’ Leona’s ambition and her excellent artwork was noted by teachers.

Fr Carney said: “Secondary school is often where we flex our muscles, test boundaries and spread our wings.  Leona, like a butterfly, was emerging from the cocoon of girlhood and developing into a young lady of promise. 

“Leona was no shrinking violet.  She was feisty and with a lovely level of independence.  She could speak her mind and speak for others in that gentle but insistent way that got the attention of the grown ups.  She stood up for those who could not stand up for themselves.  She had maturity beyond her years and a deeply caring way.”

The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins made his way to Ramelton with his Aide de Camp, Colonel Stephen Howard, having attended the earlier funeral of Martina Martin in Creeslough.

Fr Carney thanked President Higgins for the ‘solidarity of support’ over the recent dark days.

Bishop Andrew Forster, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Raphoe and Kerrykeel Presbyterian Minister Rev Susan Moore were in attendance.

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An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin was represented by his Aide de Camp, Commandant Claire Mortimer.

Cathaoirleach, Councillor Liam Blaney, and Chief Executive, John McLaughlin led a deputation from Donegal Council that also included the veteran Ramelton councillor Ian McGarvey with Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue TD representing the government.

The Bishop of Raphoe Alan McGuckian SJ led the final prayers while Creeslough priest Fr John Joe Duffy was also among the concelebrants.

Fr Carney said: “We are communities and a county reeling from last Friday’s awful tragedy in Creeslough. The waves of shock and sadness have reached every corner of this county. They have brought us together to pray for those gone from us and to stand together in support of those bereft.”