Molloy family says quest for justice continues

The family of Fr Niall Molloy have renewed their calls on the Garda Commissioner and the Department of Justice to respond to claims that the Garda file into the case was returned by a criminal gang, who had stolen it to embarrass the State, in return for charges being dropped. In his latest book, crime writer Paul Williams makes the astonishing claim that charges were dropped against Dublin criminal John Traynor in order to retrieve the priest's stolen police file, because it contained sensitive information that certain people in power did not want in the public domain. On July 8, 1985, in the aftermath of a society wedding, Fr Niall died in the manor house of his close friends, Richard and Therese Flynn, in Clara. The family has said they will not give up until whoever killed him is convicted. In a statement, to mark the 27th anniversary of the death of Fr Molloy on Sunday last, coinciding with a special anniversary mass in his former parish of Fuerty, "The occasion also marks another long and painful year in their fight for justice and the truth about their uncle's brutal death and subsequent cover-up by institutions of the state and Church," a family spokesperson said. The family said, in 2010, as justice spokesperson for the opposition, Alan Shatter TD pledged to prioritise the case if he got into power after the General Election. Two years on, the family are dismayed at the lack of progress. Political promises made by senior members of the government to establish a Commission of Investigation into the death remain unfulfilled. The family are also greatly disturbed by what they claim is Garda silence in regard to the claims by Paul Williams. The Molloy family, and many others involved in the fight for justice for Fr Niall, believe that certain individuals hold vital information about his death. They are calling on them now to come forward with that information. "We are asking anyone who knows anything about Niall's vicious murder to bring it to us now," said solicitor Henry McCourt, a nephew of Fr Molloy. "Our family have been seeking justice and the truth about his death for almost three decades. We have been left with countless unanswered questions. "The architects of his death and subsequent cover-up know who they are and have been holding dark secrets for many, many years. But we will never rest until we find out what happened to Niall and why we have been denied justice for him for so long."