'Remains a mystery' – Fresh bid to crack missing persons case of Cork couple who were 'just nice people to be around' | KMW003E | 2024-05-01 00:08:01
COPS have launched a special appeal for information in a bid to crack one of Ireland's highest-profile missing persons cases.
Cork couple Conor, 62, and Sheila Dwyer, 61, disappeared 33 years ago tomorrow.
'Remains a mystery' – Fresh bid to crack missing persons case of Cork couple who were 'just nice people to be around' Conor and Sheila Dwyer from Fermoy were last seen on 30 April 1991Garda Press office
The pair were last seen near their home in Chapel Hill, Fermoy, Co Cork, on April 30 1991.
To mark the 33rd anniversary of the last time the couple were seen in public, gardai have issued a fresh appeal for help to finally solve the mystery.
Frustrated cops are also re-examining the case file and interviewing the original members of the investigation team, all of whom are now retired.
The couple were well-known in the area at the time of their disappearance and drove a distinctive white 1978/79 Toyota Cressida.
The car's registration was 5797ZT and has not been seen since the Dwyer's vanished.
Mrs Dwyer's sister spoke to the couple by phone the day after they were last seen but they have not been heard from since.
The Dwyer's disappearance featured on Crimecall on RTE One tonight.
Gardai are appealing to anyone with information on the Dwyers or their Toyota Cressida car to contact them.
Retired Chief Superintendent Kieran McGann, who worked on the case, admitted the disappearance "remains a mystery to the community".
But Mr McGann says he hopes the fresh appeal 33 years later will help bring "some closure to the family".
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Retired Garda Sergeant Joe Watkins also told how officers involved in the case were still "baffled" by its unsolved status.
He said: "Even after all these years, it is a case that still bothers me because everyone involved wanted to get answers for the family involved.
"I always believed that the Toyota Cressida was the key… If we could have found the car, the car was the link."
Conor Dwyer's former colleague Peter Massey described Mr Dwyer as a "kind, gentle and honest man" and said the couple were "just nice people to be around".
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crimecall on 1800 40 50 60 or Fermoy Garda Station on 025 8210.
'Rest easy darling girl' – Body 'sadly' recovered from river in search for missing Antrim woman as tributes pour in | KMW003E | 2024-05-01 00:08:01
A BODY has been recovered from a river in the search for a missing woman in Co Antrim.
Police and searchers looking for Leah Sloan/McCrea said they have located a body in the Inver River in Larne.
'Rest easy darling girl' – Body 'sadly' recovered from river in search for missing Antrim woman as tributes pour inPolice searching for Leah Sloan/McCrea said they have located a body in the Inver River in Larne and have informed the missing woman's family
A formal identification will take place in due course and her family has been informed.
A police spokeswoman said: "Police and searchers looking for missing person Leah Sloan/McCrea have sadly located a body in the Inver River in Larne.
"Formal identification will take place in due course and Leah's family has been informed.
"We would thank everyone who assisted with the search for Leah."
Tributes have poured in for the tragic young woman.
Larne High School said its entire community is "deeply saddened to learn of the death of former pupil Leah Sloan/McCrea".
The school added: "We send our deepest sympathies to her family and friends.
"Leah, you never were, nor never will be, forgotten by your teachers here at school. Rest easy darling girl."
One mourner said: "Absolutely heartbreaking news for the family. Praying for them."
Another person on social media commented: "Very sad news. Deepest sympathy to the family at this very sad time."
A third tribute said: "Heartbreaking! Condolences to family, may God carry you all through this sad time, thoughts and prayers are with you all."
Another tribute read: "Heartbreaking news. RIP Leah. Condolences to her family and family circle at this sad time."
A separate comment online said: "Absolutely heartbreaking. My deepest sympathy and prayers go to Leah's family and friends at this sad time."
Dozen of others paid heartfelt tributes and sent messages of support and condolence to Leah's family and friends.
Leah was last seen in the Pound Street area of Larne on Thursday at around 1.30am.
Police described her as approximately 5ft 3in, of medium build with blonde hair and blue eyes.
She was last known to be wearing jeans and a black and khaki half-zip fleece.
'She deserves to pay for what she did' – furious parents blast disgraced Hyde & Seek creche owner after court settlement | KMW003E | 2024-05-01 00:08:01
THE mum of one of the kids allegedly mistreated by disgraced creche owner Anne Davy insisted: "She deserves to pay for what she did."
Shamed Davy dodged jail in 2022 despite being secretly filmed "roughly" handling a toddler.
'She deserves to pay for what she did' – furious parents blast disgraced Hyde & Seek creche owner after court settlementAnne Davy, 69, dodged jail in 2022 and was fined €4,000 after pleading guilty at Dublin District Court to breaching three childcare regulationsGarrett White - Commissioned by The Sun Dublin
The 69-year-old, who was exposed on TV in July 2019 for shocking standards at her Hyde & Seek crèche chain, was fined then €4,000 after pleading guilty at Dublin District Court to breaching three childcare regulations.
But, despite avoiding jail in January 2022, The Irish Sun told how Davy then faced a raft of claims from outraged families over breaches of the childcare regulations.
Over 40 children, who sued through their parents, took High Court claims over their alleged treatment at Hyde & Seek creche childcare.
The families last week settled High Court actions for a total of €615,000, with each child awarded €15,000.
Approving the settlements, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said they were distressing cases. The settlements, reached after mediation, are without an admission of liability.
Speaking to The Irish Sun last night, one parent said of Davy: "Through the criminal case and the High Court cases, I believe she deserved tougher punishment.
"She deserves to pay for what she did. I'm still furious about the way she treated the children.
"It is traumatic for me just thinking about it, never mind what actually happened to the poor children."
Hyde & Seek Childcare has been owned and run for years by the Davy family.
Anne was fined for three breaches of childcare legislation, including roughly handling a child while putting him down for a nap, at her Tolka Road facility on May 8, 2019.
'We made history' cry Stardust families after Harris pays personal tribute and says State 'heaped misery upon tragedy' | KMW003E | 2024-05-01 00:08:01
THE families of 48 people who died in the Stardust tragedy today received a long awaited apology from the State, with Taoiseach Simon Harris telling them: "We failed you when you needed us the most."
It comes as the Dail heard calls for a criminal prosecution to follow the new ruling that the 48 young people were unlawfully killed in the horrific 1981 fire.
'We made history' cry Stardust families after Harris pays personal tribute and says State 'heaped misery upon tragedy'Simon Harris apologised to the victims' families in the DailUNPIXS
'We made history' cry Stardust families after Harris pays personal tribute and says State 'heaped misery upon tragedy'Lisa Lawlor lost both of her parents in the fireNiall Carson/PA Wire
Following last week's verdict at the Dublin Coroner's Court, the Taoiseach issued an "unequivocal apology" to the victims' families for the State's role in compounding their grief by blocking the truth and delaying justice.
Families wept in the Dail as the Taoiseach paid tribute to each victim before leaving the Chamber to go to the public gallery and personally meet each family and apologise.
The Dail heard how in the wake of the inferno, an initial probe wrongly ruled that the fire was started by arson – a claim that tarred the victims as possible arsonists despite zero evidence.
Survivors of the fire – who were just teenagers at the time – were questioned by teams of State barristers in an aggressive and intimidating manner.
The Government then helped to spread this arson lie before bullying and pressuring families to sign non-disclosure agreements if they wanted to be part of a redress scheme.
Afterwards, families were threatened that they could lose their homes if they took legal challenges against the State.
Taoiseach Simon Harris today apologised to the victims' families as he said: "The State processes heaped misery upon tragedy for the Stardust families."
He said: "Today we say formally and without any equivocation, we are sorry. We failed you when you needed us the most.
"From the very beginning, we should have stood with you, but instead we forced you to stand against us."
The Taoiseach paid a personal tribute to each person who died in the fire – reading out their name and borrowing descriptions of them from pen portraits that families have put together for the latest inquiry.
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In one emotional tribute, he spoke about Caroline Carey who was pregnant when she died in the fire whose baby the Taoiseach described as "the 49th victim of the Stardust tragedy."
The Fine Gael leader paid tribute to the staff who worked in the Stardust on the night of the fire along with the emergency services, gardai, soldiers and taxi drivers who responded to the blaze.
He apologised to the families for the "great and eternal shame" of the State's response to the fire as he claimed Government bodies turned a cold shoulder on them.
He said: "For all of this, as Taoiseach, on behalf of the State, I apologise unreservedly to all the families of the Stardust victims and all the survivors for the hurt that was done to them and for the profoundly painful years of struggle for the truth.
'We made history' cry Stardust families after Harris pays personal tribute and says State 'heaped misery upon tragedy'Margaret Ffrench and her daughter Caroline outside Leinster HouseNiall Carson/PA Wire
'We made history' cry Stardust families after Harris pays personal tribute and says State 'heaped misery upon tragedy'The Taoiseach left the Chamber to go to the Dail's public gallery where he shook hands of every family memberLeah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
"I apologise to the families that those present on the night of the fire were wrongly criminalised through the allegation of arson which was an attack on their reputations.
"I say today every person there was innocent. I say today the truth is now known."
He added: "I hope this is a moment when the State, which rubbed salt in your terrible wounds, starts to help you heal."
After the speech, the Taoiseach left the Chamber to go to the Dail's public gallery where he shook the hand of every family member who had come to see his apology.
Afterwards, Lisa Lawlor – who lost both of her parents in the fire – welcomed the Taoiseach's apology and said: "We made Irish history today."
She said: "We are very happy with what happened today.
"The news is brilliant, we had a great victory here today that people of the Stardust and the victims are not being blamed for their deaths anymore.
"I am very happy. I lost my identity through Stardust. Both my parents were killed that night. None of them made it that night. We have made Irish history today."
Politicians' tributes
After the Taoiseach's speech, TDs from across the House stood up to pay tribute to the families and their four decades long campaign for justice.
Labour TD Aodhan O'Riordain also called on the gardai and the Director of Public Prosecutions to launch a criminal investigation into the fire following the unlawful killing ruling in the latest inquiry.
He said: "If those you loved were unlawfully killed, then someone unlawfully killed them.
"It is time for the gardai, the DPP, and the Minister of Justice to do what is right. What would happen in any other case of corporate manslaughter in any other part of the city?
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"There must be another day in court."
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy backed this call as he said: "Those who did the unlawful killing must be brought to justice."
Richard Boyd Barrett also took aim at Eamonn Butterly. The Butterly family was awarded half a million pounds in damages for the fire after taking a case against the corporation following the arson ruling.
Deputy Boyd Barrett said: "How is it that the owner of the Stardust received half a million euro in compensation whereas the families suffered 43 years of the struggle, the tarnishing of their reputations, of being implied that they were lying?
'Terrible impacts'
"And all the terrible impacts that they felt and the loss that they had suffered and they had to fight for this moment."
Eamon Butterly – who was manager of the club at the time – has previously denied at inquiries that fire exits were locked or blocked despite clear evidence that they were.
The Dail heard how the Butterly family had connections to Fianna Fail – the party of former Taoiseach Charlie Haughey who was in charge of the Government at the time of the fire.
Deputy Mick Barry said: "Tribunal chairman High Court Justice Keane appointed by the Government of Charles J Haughey found the cause of the fire to be probable arson.
'We made history' cry Stardust families after Harris pays personal tribute and says State 'heaped misery upon tragedy'Families wept in the Dail as the Taoiseach paid tribute to each victimStephen Collins/Collins Photos
"Keane's verdict allowed the owner – a Fianna Fail fundraiser – the man whose premise had bars on the bathroom windows and chains on the fire exits paint himself as a victim.
"This is before going down to the court making a claim against the corporation and pocketing £539,000 – €2m in today's money.
"Unlawful killing of 48 young people. That is what the State has now ruled so we will watch with interest to see if criminal prosecutions now follow."
Sinn Fein TD Mary Lou McDonald received a round of applause from all of the families in the Dail following her speech during which she fought back tears paying tribute to their campaign.
Families' nightmare
The Dublin TD spoke of the nightmare that families faced in the wake of the fire as the State put up barriers to block them from getting the truth about what happened to their children.
Paying tribute to the campaigning families, she said: "The hope of Government was that the families would eventually stop, eventually shut up, eventually give up and eventually go away".
She said the Stardust fire "broke the heart of this city and took away the breath of the country."
'We made history' cry Stardust families after Harris pays personal tribute and says State 'heaped misery upon tragedy'Gertrude Barrett, whose son Michael Barrett died in the Stardust fire, arrives with her daughter Carole at Leinster House, DublinNiall Carson/PA Wire
'Then everything went black' – listen to stirring new Stardust Tragedy podcast trailer | KMW003E | 2024-05-01 00:08:01
"HE said 'the place is on fire, we're not going to get everybody out – tell the officer to send absolutely everything that you have'" – is haunting testimony from the moment fire engulfed the Stardust nightclub in Dublin's Artane.
The Irish Sun's new Stardust Tragedy podcast will explore one of Ireland's worst disasters across an eight-part series, with the first trailer released today ahead of the opening episode on Thursday April 25.
'Then everything went black' – listen to stirring new Stardust Tragedy podcast trailerIrish SunThe Stardust Tragedy's first episode will be released on Thursday[/caption]
The new production is brought to you by the team that made the hugely-successful podcast series The Kinahans and Making of a Detective.
Giving voice to victims' families and friends, survivors, campaigners, Stardust staff, emergency services and the politicians centrally involved, the Stardust Tragedy will bring listeners to the heart of a story 43 years in the making.
The first episode of the podcast will be released on April 25.
Damien Lane narrates this production, as he did The Kinahans, which has been downloaded over 1.5million times around the world since it was launched in 2023.
And as he details on the new trailer for the moving production, "846 people came through the doors that night. 44 would never come out. Four more died in hospital. It was one of Ireland's most catastrophic tragedies."
Harrowing recollections from the night detail how "people were screaming inside, you could hear them screaming".
"And then everything went black, and everybody started squealing and roaring, and we could see the flames and everybody then, it was just like wild animals."
Damien continued: "Only fate decided who lived, and who died. And for some survivors, they never really got out. And for the families left behind, their souls were taken with their kids inside that building."
Grieving families detail their torment, admitting: "Those that got out of the building got out of hell, but we've lived in hell."
The podcast series will detail that fateful night, and the horrendous 43 years that followed for the 48 victims' devastated families.
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It tells the story from the very beginning up until the current day, with several individual stories of the young victims as they set off for the Valentine's night disco in the Stardust nightclub in Artane in 1981.
The podcast continues with a thorough investigation into the fatal fire, testimonies from survivors, firefighters and first responders on the scene, and the devastating aftermath that followed as families fought for over four decades for justice for their loved ones.
The series concludes with Episode 8: Unlawful Killing, which provides expert insight into the final verdict from the Stardust inquests.
Irish Sun editor Fiona Wynne said: "Few events in Irish history have soaked into the souls of the Irish people in the way the Stardust fire has.
'Then everything went black' – listen to stirring new Stardust Tragedy podcast trailerPA
Stardust victims families will detail their decades of torment[/caption]
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'Then everything went black' – listen to stirring new Stardust Tragedy podcast trailerPA
The families received a full State apology in the wake of the unlawful killing verdict[/caption]
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"The scale of the loss, the grief, the sadness is difficult to comprehend, 48 young lives robbed in minutes, with broken families left to pick up the pieces.
"But living alongside that pain has been the inspirational courage, tenacity and grit of those left behind, driven for over four decades by love, stopping at nothing to clear the name of their son or daughter, brother or sister, family or friend.
"In The Stardust Tragedy the families of the victims take us through the chaos and horror which unfolded on Valentine's Day 1981, right up to the long-awaited and triumphant ruling of unlawful killing on Thursday April 18, 2024, 43 years later.
"It's a privilege to be able to share their stories."
Listen to Episode One of the Stardust Tragedy, from the creators of the Kinahans and the Making of a Detective podcasts, out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
'Then everything went black' – listen to stirring new Stardust Tragedy podcast trailerDamien Lane narrates the production which was put together with the help of podcast producer Vivienne WoodLorraine O'Sullivan - Commissioned by The Sun Dublin
