Further enquiries into midlands priest's death

The family of a Roscommon priest Fr Niall Molloy, who died in Clara 26 years ago, has said this week that further enquiries are still being carried out into the priest's death after it was revealed recently that Fr Niall was left to die for at least six hours before Gardai were alerted. The family had long maintained that this was the case and this week Fr Niall's nephew, Bill Maher, told the Offaly Independent: "I don't think this evidence can be ignored, it's too strong, it's based on the slides, not just medical opinion." Fr Niall Molloy, 52, a parish priest in Castlecoote, Roscommon, was found covered in his own blood in the master bedroom of Kilcoursey House, owned by Richard and Therese Flynn, from Moate, in Clara, in July 1985 after a family wedding. In a subsequent trial, Judge Frank Roe directed the jury to acquit Mr Flynn, who was charged with manslaughter, on the grounds that Fr Molloy may have died of a heart attack. A new report into Fr Niall's death carried out by one of the country's top pathologists, which is based on the original laboratory slides of the priest's brain, is understood to claim that the Roscommon native was left to die for at least six hours. "It's a very strong medical opinion confirming what we thought for so long," Mr Maher told the Offaly Independent, explaining that Fr Niall's watch, which was returned to his family after his death, had been cracked and broken with the hands stopped at 10.40, but Gardai were only called to the scene at 3.15am. He said the family had always felt the watch was significant in the investigation and now the medical evidence had confirmed this. Speaking about how the family felt about getting this confirmation, Mr Maher said: "It's upsetting for us as a family that he was dying for some time." And he added that while Fr Niall's death occurred 26 years ago, it still felt like yesterday for the family and he remembered the first phone call alerting him to the news that morning. "We still want justice and closure," he said. And Mr Maher, who has both a Facebook page (Justice for Fr Niall Molloy) and an online petition site (http://www.thepetitionsite.com/10/justice-for-fr-niall-molloy/), said advances in technology in recent years had helped to keep Fr Niall's case to the fore. He explained that his brother Ian, who passed away ten years ago, had campaigned to the very end, but that the internet had helped him to conduct research and to continue the fight. He also credited the media with highlighting the case and the fact that it was mentioned in a couple of books over the years. "A lot of people may be too young to remember, but it is one of those unexplained mysteries in recent Irish history," he said. Mr Maher said the family was now waiting on the report from Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan and said they had not yet been contacted by his office. He explained that eight detectives have been working on the case for the past six months, adding: "There's been quite intensive garda activity since Christmas time. In fairness to the family, and the taxpayer, it's cost a lot of money, and we would like to see justice being done." Mr Maher said the fact that the case had been highlighted in the Irish Independent had resulted in a number of people contacting that newspaper with information that has proved invaluable to the case in recent months, with other people contacting him directly through his online sites.