mary collins dempsey

On the 23rd of October 1986, a 13 year old schoolboy called Philip Cairns disappeared off the face of the earth walking to Coláiste Éanna school in Ballyroan, Rathfarnham Philip lived on Ballyroan Road with his Ma and Da, four older sisters, and a younger brother. That day after going home on his lunch, he left again around 1pm to make the short 15 minute walk back to school. But he never arrived. When Philip didnt come home, his Mam Alice began to fret. She contacted a Garda called Paddy Cloke, who was also the Da of Philip’s best friend. Cloke immediately alerted Rathfarnham Garda Station. What followed was one of the most high-profile unsolved missing persons cases in Irish history. The nationwide search for Philip involved hundreds of volunteers, along with Gardaí from the surrounding areas of Terenure and Tallaght. Even the nearby Wicklow Mountains were unsuccessfully scoured for clues, but no sign of the boy was found. Then, a week later, on the day before Halloween, two schoolgirls stumbled across a significant discovery. Philip’s schoolbag lay in a laneway just a few hundred yards from his home. This raised more questions than answers. The area had previously been searched before and the bag wasn't there. And despite recent rain, the bag was dry. All signs pointed towards the evidence being deliberately placed there days after his disappearance. But by who, and to what end? Any hopes this new break in the case raised for Philip’s family and Gardaí were sadly in vane. The trail ran cold. Everyone had their theories, and as the days turned to years, each trail ended in the dark. Had the schoolboy been abducted, possibly for ransom? Had he run away to England? Had he somehow been killed accidentally, even by a fellow schoolboy, and those responsible covered up the death. Perhaps with the help of the guilty kids' parents? Had the schoolbag been left there by an innocent person who discovered it elsewhere and deposited it out of fear they'd be falsely accused? Was there a serial killer about to strike again? In 2016, thirty years after his disappearance, a fresh lead briefly reignited hope for answers. A woman came forward claiming that a convicted child abuser and former radio DJ Eamon Cooke might have been involved in Philip’s death. According to her, Philip had visited Cooke's pirate radio station and was killed there, with his body hidden afterwards. The Gardaí investigated the claims, but Cooke, who died in 2016, never confirmed any involvement, and no evidence was found to support this theory. Philip’s disappearance continues to haunt the Rathfarnham community. In 2016, 500 people marched from Marian Road to the alleyway where Philip's schoolbag had been found, marking the 30th anniversary of his disappearance. One former student of Coláiste Éanna reflected on the lasting impact of the event, saying it "stole the innocence of an entire community."