Published: Friday, 13th January, 2012 9:00am

Family seek Garda response to cover-up claims

The family of Fr Niall Molloy, who died in Clara almost 27 years ago, has this week called on Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan to respond to claims by crime writer Paul Williams that the force was involved in a top-level cover-up of the case.

In his new book, Badfellas, Mr Williams states that Dublin criminal John Traynor returned a stolen Garda file on the case in return for charges being dropped against him. Fr Niall's nephew Bill Maher said the book claims that the file concerning the case contained notes and statements that people didn't want in the public domain and the authorities wanted the file back at all costs.

Mr Maher said this week: "This is an extraordinary claim by the country's top crime writer against the Gardai.

"Either he is right or he is wrong," he said, calling on the Gardai to respond to the claim.

Fr Niall Molloy, 52, a parish priest in Castlecoote, Roscommon, was found covered in his own blood in the master bedroom of a house in Clara, in July 1985, after a wedding.

"Our family has suffered long enough in the pursuit of justice for our uncle," he said.

Mr Maher said the family would not give up fighting until whoever killed him was convicted.

Mr Maher said there had been a number of "profoundly disquieting allegations" surrounding his uncle's case for almost three decades.

He said that in December 2010 then Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy had requested a review of the case by the Cold Case unit.

"One year on, we are utterly disillusioned by the pace of this review and yet more failures to acquire basic evidence relating to Niall's murder," said Mr Maher.

A statement from An Garda Síochána to the Offaly Independent yesterday read: "As this case remains under review it would be inappropriate for us to comment."