Kyran Durnin: gardaí finish dig in Dundalk back garden without finding fresh evidence

Gardaí have completed a dig in a back garden in Dundalk for the missing eight-year-old boy Kyran Durnin.

Officers have been searching a shared garden between two bungalows in Fr Murray Park but have found no body or evidence linked to his disappearance.

Kyran was reported missing along with his mother Dayla Durnin (24) on August 30th from their home in Drogheda.

Since then Ms Durnin has been located, but the missing persons search for Kyran has been upgraded to a murder investigation.

Gardaí are working on the presumption that the boy, who has not been seen since 2022, is now dead.

The shared garden in Fr Murray Park between two bungalows backs on to Emer Terrace where Ms Durnin, her son and her two daughters lived until May of this year.

A forensic examination of the Emer Terrace house and the wasteland outside has also been completed.

Detectives searching the back garden in Fr Murray Park began moving their equipment out of it on Thursday afternoon.

It is likely now that the search for Kyran will switch to the address he lived at Drogheda before the last reported siting on August 30th.

The case is indicative of “real problems” with the State’s child protection systems, according to the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, Caoilfhionn Gallagher.

Gardaí believe the eight-year-old boy from Drogheda, Co Louth, may have been killed up to two years ago, having not been seen since he was removed from his primary school in 2022.

Tusla had some dealings with the child’s family in previous years but there was no indication he was a victim of abuse.

“The bottom line is that if we want to improve our child-protection systems, we have got to put our money where our mouth is and follow up the admirable rhetoric about trying to make Ireland one of the best places in the world or in Europe to be a child with actual putting in proper resources and proper commitment to ensure that our systems are fit for purpose,” Ms Gallagher said on RTÉ radio’s News at One.

“I’m afraid this case is indicative of real problems with our systems, and on the face of it, it looks as if our systems were not fit for purpose, they failed Kyran, and it’s taken two years for us to catch up on what’s happened,” she told RTÉ radio’s News at One.

The case of Kyran Durnin is an “extraordinary incident” the likes of which Drew Harris says he has not seen in his more than 40 years in policing.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, the Garda Commissioner said the investigating team has been trying to identify proof of life since Kyran Durnin was last sighted in 2022.

“So, I cannot comment specifically on whether Kyran reached his seventh or eight birthday.”

He described the possibility that a boy had been missing for two years and possibly murdered and this having gone unnoticed as an “extraordinary incident” and one he had not seen the like of in his more than 40 years in policing.

“I cannot think of a similar set of circumstances and in that way there is a particular element to this that is difficult to comprehend.”

When Kyran Durnin was officially reported missing from his home at the end of August, gardaí opened an investigation. However, that missing persons inquiry, for the boy and his mother Dayla Durnin (24), was stood down last week after gardaí traced and spoke to his mother and found no evidence the boy was alive.

[ Family member reported Kyran Durnin missing 24 hours after Tusla alertOpens in new window ]

Mr Harris said he was briefed on the case in early September and met the investigating team.

“Throughout we have been very concerned to understand what has happened to Kyran and where this investigation is going to take us.”

He said that since the gardaí went public about the murder inquiry some very important information had been received and he encouraged any member of the public who had any information to get in contact.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin meanwhile told reporters in Paris it was “quite shocking that something like this could have happened without it coming to the attention of authorities”.

“I know that the Minister for children has referred (the case) to the National Review Panel, and also that it is subject to a Garda investigation,” he said. “We need a very fundamental review as to what happened in this case. And obviously, I do believe we have to await the outcome of the Garda investigation to make sure we’re on solid ground in pursuing such a review.”