SITTING in the front room of his home in Caherdavin, Limerick, 81-year old Denis Walsh whispers through tears: “I’m sitting here now with the coffin, it’s 25 years since he was in the house, he’s here now.”
The remains of his son, Denis jnr, were exhumed from a communal grave in Galway this morning, and are to be reinterred in the family plot, Saturday, following 11.30am requiem mass at Christ the King Church Caherdavin.
Denis jnr, (23), who had struggled with his mental health, walked out of the family home on March 9th, 1996, and was never seen again, apart from two positive sightings a few days later.
Fast forward 25 years to February 5th this year, and two gardai arrive at the Walsh’s home informing Denis snr and his wife Mary, (82), that a partial body found on Inis Mor, four weeks after Denis, (23), went missing, was their missing son.
Astounded at the news, having checked with gardai over the years for any updates on their son’s case, Mr and Mrs Walsh said they have been left with unanswered questions as to why their son’s remains were not identified sooner.
It turns out Denis jnr’s unidentified remains were kept in a hospital mortuary for 18 years before being buried in a communal grave alongside several other bodies at Bohermore Cemetery in 2014.
A letter from gardai to the family last February acknowledged the Walsh’s have been left with “lots of justifiable questions on how it took so long to identify Denis”.
“Identification ultimately came about through advances in science and DNA, and there was nothing by way of identification from dental records, fingerprints, or clothing which may have assisted Denis’s identification in 1996 when his remains were recovered”, the letter stated.
A 1996 report in the Tuam Herald, on the discovery of the remains, stated an “examination of the badly decomposed body, has shown that it was a man aged between 25 and 35”, and that, “while the body has not as yet been positively identified, according to Gardai, it is clear the man was well built with neatly cut brown hair”.
The report noted it was difficult to estimate the height as the legs were missing.
Gardai told the newspaper that a post mortem on the body indicated it was in the water between four and seven weeks.
Salthill gardai appealed for any member of the public with information to contact them, however it is unclear whether they contacted any garda stations about the grim find, and gardai have declined to comment on this.
Gardai said bodily samples taken from the remains in 1996 and forwarded to the Forensic Science Laboratory were examined in July 2008, March 2011, and June 2017 “with negative results for a DNA match”.
Denis Walsh snr said he and his wife provided gardai with salvia swabs, containing their DNA, in 2012, and were unaware of any bodies been found.
“Gardai made a statement on the Tuam Herald that the body had brown hair, well we were told (the remains) could not be identified from the hair, so who is telling the truth?”
“They should be extremely embarrassed – not the gardai that are there today – but most of the fellas that were there before that are probably retired.”
“It’s hard to believe what happened. We always held a faint hope that Denis might walk in the door some day. This could have been all over 25 years ago, and I have to get answers wherever I get them.”
“What gets me is that, yes, we know Denis had a problem and couldn’t be helped, as such, but, the incompetence that went on afterwards just beggars belief, it’s unbelievable.”
“People are asking me, ‘what happened, what happened’ – I don’t know what happened, but I aim to find out.”
Mr Walsh said “the gardai did not join up the dots”, while his son Paul Walsh added, “there was no connection made as far as we can see”.
Denis Walsh snr continued: “We have now got back Denis’s remains, but there are other people still looking for their missing relatives; It’s just unbelievable, I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
A documentary inquest, of which no witnesses will attend but their statements will be read into the record, is due to be held into Denis’s death before the end of the month.
The Walsh family said they have been informed they will not be permitted to attend due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings.
It’s understood the family has an option to wait until restrictions ease so they would be able to attend an inquest at a later stage.
However, Mr Walsh said he has “waited long enough for answers”.
“My solicitor has written to the Coroner to see if I will be allowed into the inquest. I am waiting for an answer,” he said.
