Una Lynskey mysteriously went missing on her way home from her job at the Land Commission offices in Dublin city centre on 12th October 1971. At the tender age of 19, she had been living with her family on Porterstown Lane near Ratoath in County Meath. After disembarking the bus with her cousin, Ann Gaughan, Lynskey had begun the 15-minute walk home when she vanished, instigating immediate concerns when she failed to return.
The Lynskeys were a sizable family of 12, nestled within the tight-knit community of Porterstown Lane, where many homes were inhabited by the so-called “Westies”, displaced from the west of Ireland. Following Una’s disappearance, the Gardaí suspect selection was driven by bias against these “Westies”, according to widespread local sentiment of the time.
Interestingly, the “Westies” had been a part of an initiative put forth by the Land Commission, Una’s employer at the time of her conspicuous vanishing. This initiative was crafted with the intention of coaxing individuals from the overcrowded and barren areas of the western coastline to settle in the more fertile lands of the east. Originating from the small, unfeasible holdings of the late 19th century, the programme was an endeavour by the maiden Free State government to improve the livelihoods of those struggling in parts of Connacht. The scheme was then significantly expanded after Fianna Fáil took the reins in 1932.
Under the auspices of the Land Commission, individuals relinquished their properties in the western regions and were then granted smallholdings of approximately 20 to 25 acres, predominantly located in Meath and Kildare counties. Consequently, this stimulated the growth of multiple Gaeltachts, especially in Meath, largely owing to the internal relocation of what were termed the “Westies”, “colonists”, or “Gaeltachts”. Remarkably, Irish is still the prevailing spoken language in these sectors.
In 1940, the commission acquired a vast estate located in Porterstown Lane. This was subsequently partitioned in 20 to 25 acre plots and allocated to families originating from the Erris peninsula in Co Mayo, including Pat Lynske, father of Una, Ann Gaughan’s (Una’s cousin) father, Pat Gaughan, and the parental units of Martin Conmey and Marty Kerrigan, two young men, aged 20 and 19 respectively, who were suspected by the local law enforcement of being involved in the disappearance of Una Lynskey. Interestingly Dick Donnelly, another suspect aged 23, was unique in these parts as he was not of western origin.
Parallels can be drawn between the apprehension and scepticism expressed towards the influx of families from the west moving across the country from the 1930s to their new domiciles and the current anxiety exhibited towards immigrants from developing nations. This sentiment was witnessed in Porterstown Lane although it dissipated as the communities grew and integrated. Pat Lynskey, Una’s father, conveyed the feelings of alienation he and fellow westerners had experienced.
His narrative after the disappearance of his daughter was one of migrants struggling to fit in. “We came here as migrants with seven other families from Co Mayo, the Belmullet area,” he stated. “While the local people, the Co Meath people, never accepted us, they never did us any harm,” he added.
The homicide team was deployed to Porterstown Lane 2 days subsequent to the vanishing of Una Lynskey. Already the authorities harboured strong suspicions that a tragedy had unfolded. Their preliminary investigations led them to deduce that the aforementioned trio had driven past the area around the time of her disappearance. The exact chronological details of their whereabouts would turn out to be pivotal in the ensuing events.
The trio’s account suggests that they entered the 2.4km long alley from the opposite direction that Lynskey had, with at least a 15-minute gap, thereby eliminating any possibility of encountering her. Initially, their narrative was supported by local testimonies, raising doubts about the gardaí’s initial suspicions. However, repetitive questioning led to changes in these narratives that aligned with the police’s theory. It was suspected by investigators that there could be a local pact of silence, despite Lynskey also being a community member.
The men were subsequently apprehended and brought to the Trim Garda station for questioning. There are claims suggesting the three were subject to physical abuse in custody to coax confessions and divulge Lynskey’s whereabouts. The lead investigator, Det Sgt John Courtney, later featured in numerous cases involving alleged in-custody assault during the 1970s and 1980s.
What followed were weak, disjointed confession fragments from Conmey and Kerrigan. They later affirmed the statements were made under extreme pressure and threats, while they were oblivious to the details of Lynskey’s disappearance.
The unflinching stand of these men was mistakenly attributed by the Gardaí to their “Westie” mentality – resilience and cunningness, traits usually associated with families who had migrated from Connacht.
Lynskey’s body was found near Tibradden, in the Dublin mountains in December 1971. Lynskey’s disappearance led to a two-month period of turmoil within the Porterstown Lane community. In the aftermath, two families were left in mourning and another had to endure the wrongful imprisonment of a loved one. Serious concerns were raised regarding the police methods and if bias played a role in their probe. The unresolved questions continue to plague the murder squad, while the once close-knit community, filled with Western Irish migrants, was irreversibly altered.
The book ‘Who Killed Una Lynskey?’ by Mick Clifford takes a deep dive into the investigations of two unsettling murders that took place in the 1970s, shedding light on the involvement of the Garda heavy gang. Conmey and Donnelly were found guilty of Una Lynskey’s manslaughter, leading to a three-year prison sentence. However, Donnelly successfully had his conviction overturned whilst Conmey completed his sentence. In 2010, a successful appeal led to Conmey’s conviction being repealed, and subsequently, it was deemed a gross miscarriage of justice. Kerrigan, another victim linked to this case, disappeared shortly after Lynskey’s body was discovered. He was last seen forcefully being taken into a car in Ratoath. His remains were found the following day in Tibradden, Rathfarnham, Dublin, which is in close proximity to the location where Lynskey’s body was unearthed. Mick Clifford, who is a special correspondent for the Irish Examiner, is the author of ‘Who Killed Una Lynskey?’, with Sandycove as its publisher.