“No hope of justice” for Fr Niall say family after 40 years
Forty years on from the killing of a Roscommon priest in the home of a prominent Clara businessman, his family has admitted they now hold out “no hope” of ever uncovering the truth of what happened.
Fr Niall Molloy (52) was beaten and died on the bedroom floor of married couple, Richard and Theresa Flynn, in Kilcoursey, Clara on July 8, 1985. Mr Flynn was subsequently acquitted of the murder of the priest, who had been a longtime family friend.
As he prepares to attend a special Mass in Fuerty in county Roscommon on Sunday week, July 20, to mark the 40th anniversary of the death of Fr Niall, his nephew, Bill Maher, admits the Molloy family now feel there is "no hope" of ever uncovering the truth of what happened to their much-loved uncle.
Despite a 'cold case' review by the Serious Crime Review Team, a Department of Justice review, a report by the Garda Ombudsman, a book and a two-part RTE documentary on the killing of Fr Niall Molloy, Bill Maher said the only forum which could perhaps unearth the truth is a Commission of Investigation.
"We wrote to the new Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, in May, and to date we haven't even received as much as an acknowlegement," says Mr Maher, "so we have no reason whatsoever to believe that he will say yes to a Commission of Investigation when every other Minister has said no."
Bill Maher says the family of Fr Niall Molloy have always advocated for a Commission of Investigation into the killing of his uncle, and the family is still calling for its establishment 40 years on.
"People who knew what happened in that house on the night of the killing refused to talk to the cold case review team, so there is very little hope of them ever coming forward at this stage, and the only forum that could compel them to talk is a Commission of Investigation," he says.
Having battled his own health issues in recent years, the late priest's nephew says he has had to "take a step back" from his long-running campaign to seek justice for the unlawful killing of Fr Niall, who was the parish priest of Castlecoote, in the Roscommon parish of Fuerty, at the time of his death
"He was much-loved and highly-respected by his parishioners, and even though those parishioners are getting fewer and fewer with each passing year, they still insist on organising an anniversary Mass in the church beside where he is buried in Fuerty," says Bill.
During their four-decade campaign for justice, the family of Fr Niall Molloy met with "every political party and Independent TD" in the Dáil. "Plenty of promises were made to us, especially around election time, but that was the end of it," he says. "You end up feeling like you're banging your head against a wall."
Even though they have been left with many questions over the past 40 years, and feel hope is fading of ever finding answers, Bill Maher says the loved ones left behind after the killing of Fr Niall will "never give up hope" of one day unearthing the truth of what happened in Clara on the fateful night of July 8, 1985.
"We know there is probably no hope of justice for Fr Niall at this stage," Bill admits, but nonetheless, he adds that the family will "never give up" their quest for answers.