Gardaí investigating the murder of missing schoolboy Kyran Durnin remain determined to solve the case – even though no fresh leads have emerged in recent months, reports The Mirror.
Nearly a year after Kyran was first reported as a “missing child”, officers insist the investigation “remains ongoing”.
However, it’s been officially acknowledged that there have been “no updates” on the case in recent months, reports The Mirror.
This development comes as Detective Inspector Aidan McCabe, the widely respected senior officer leading the investigation, has now retired from the Gardaí.
Detective Inspector McCabe was also a key figure in Operation Stratus – the special initiative launched to tackle the Drogheda gang feud, which resulted in four fatalities, including the murder of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods.
Kyran – believed to have been murdered – was officially reported missing at the end of August 2024. He would have celebrated his ninth birthday on May 15, reports The Mirror.
The case was reclassified as a murder investigation by gardaí in October last year.
The boy, who was only six when he was last seen alive in June 2022, has remained unaccounted for, with his disappearance continuing to shock and puzzle the nation.
Those suspected of involvement in Kyran’s disappearance and presumed killing have not cooperated, reports The Mirror.
Two individuals – a man and a woman, both of whom knew Kyran – were arrested last year but later released without charge.
Despite the retirement of the lead detective, the case has not been closed, and the investigation is continuing, authorities have said.
In a statement to the Irish Sunday Mirror, An Garda Síochána said: “We can confirm this investigation remains ongoing and there is no update at this time,” reports The Mirror.
The Garda team, based at Drogheda station, continues to thoroughly examine the evidence and review the significant volume of material gathered – something sources describe as “taking time”. The case only came to public attention after Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, grew suspicious during a meeting in early August 2024, when a child presented as Kyran.
Investigators now believe the child was a stand-in used to deceive authorities, reports The Mirror.
Although Kyran had not been seen since June 2022 – with the final confirmed sighting taking place at a McDonald’s in Drogheda – it wasn’t until September last year that gardaí began to fear he had died and may have been secretly buried. Early inquiries focused on a prior reported sighting in May 2022 when his school in Dundalk, Co Louth, was informed he had transferred to a school in Northern Ireland.
At the end of August 2024, Kyran and his mother Dayla were officially reported missing at Drogheda Garda Station. Two months later, gardaí tracked Dayla to Ipswich in southern England. Kyran, however, was not with her, and the missing persons case was escalated to a murder investigation, reports The Mirror.
Communities in Dundalk, where Kyran lived and went to school, and in Drogheda, his hometown, held vigils in both locations to raise awareness and honour the memory of the young boy.
To date, gardaí have searched four houses – three in Drogheda and one in Dundalk. One of the searches took place last October at Kyran’s previous family residence on Emer Terrace in Dundalk.
In December, a woman in her 20s who knew Kyran was arrested as a suspect in his murder. She was later released without charge, reports The Mirror.
That same week, a second arrest was made – this time of a 36-year-old man, Anthony Maguire, who had a previous conviction for violence. Maguire died by suicide in the days after his arrest.
In early December, The Irish Mirror approached Kyran’s mother Dayla in the UK as she made her way to watch a Premier League match between Ipswich and Newcastle, accompanied by a man, reports The Mirror.
She was asked whether she had any comment about Kyran or the investigation, in light of the public interest and widespread concern regarding how Kyran’s disappearance was not detected sooner.
She declined to answer our questions but told us: “I’d appreciate it if you would go away from me. Thank you,” reports The Mirror.
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