The Case Of Gerry Daly

By AM Friday, December 23, 2011

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It is very distressing for my mum and dad, Gerard and Bridget. They are very concerned about him, as we all are at this point. Not knowing anything is very distressing. Hopefully this appeal will help somebody to remember something that may lead to whereabouts – Belinda Daly.

In recent weeks Prime Time ran a feature, Hidden Dead on the re-emergence in Ireland of a phenomenon better known for its association with the North’s violent political conflict. The use of unmarked secret graves to bury those who had transgressed some code outwardly respected only by those who devised it, was one of the most barbaric features of the Provisional IRA’s campaign.  The IRA, while the prime mover behind the fate of the disappeared, was by no means the sole practitioner of the dark art. The INLA and UVF on occasion too killed people and placed their bodies in secret burial locations.

With the drawing to a close of the Northern conflict the IRA began to open its secret graves, allowing them to yield up their dead so that bereaved families could attain some degree of closure. It was welcome if limited measure which brought considerable relief to many although not all families who had this appalling gratuitous cruelty inflicted on them. 

Now the criminal fraternity appears to have stepped in to fill the IRA’s shoes, and its graves. Attention was drawn to this aspect of gangland activity by the very public kidnapping of Ciaran Noonan in broad daylight. He was seen being bundled into a car by a group of men in Dublin in October. His heartbroken mother’s appeal for information brought the case to national attention. A week into November saw the recovery of Ciaran’s body, retrieved from a field reportedly after vital information was provided.

Prime Time decided to dig deeper. One of those behind the production of Hidden Dead, RTE’s Barry Cummings writing in advance of the broadcast claimed:

Of the dozens upon dozens of people who are missing in this country, there are at least thirty who have actually been murdered and their bodies hidden. Those victims include at least 12 cases of people who have been killed and secretly buried by Ireland's criminal gangs.

Of the disappeared profiled in the Hidden Dead there was one person at least did not feature.

On Boxing Day father of three Gerry Daly will have been missing for six months. On Sunday the 26th of June he left his home at Bailieboro, Co Cavan never to return nor be heard of nor seen again. Formerly from the Tallaght area of Dublin he was well known in the world of dogs. He had bred Alsatians and sold the pups as well as training the animals. Shortly after his disappearance, his younger sister Belinda appealed for information. In an interview she pointed out that the home he left behind showed no sign of disturbance as might be expected had he been involved in a struggle. His clothes, passport and wallet were in place. A couple of lights were on in the house, as was the television. While his keys and phone were missing, his personal belongings seemed to be untouched. His car was where he had parked it. Family members who had been in his company in the weeks and days prior to his going missing reported no signs of unease.

What fate actually befell Gerry Daly, no one other than those who presumably spirited him away is certain of. His family, weighed down with worry when they approached me, were by now convinced that there was no innocent explanation for his disappearance. According to Belinda Daly the Gardaí had ruled out suicide. Nor did they consider it likely that Gerry Daly had taken flight and left the country. At the same time the force appeared to rule out the possibility that he had been forcibly taken against his will. ‘The Gardaí have not indicated anything like that to us at all’ said Belinda. That seemed to leave little in the way of explanation other than the highly improbable proposition that Gerry wandered off into the summer night and inadvertently met a fate not yet disclosed.

In their bid to unravel the mystery of Gerry Daly having joined the country’s growing missing persons’ list the Gardai used a helicopter as well as dredging local lakes. The search, despite being aided by local people, has thus far turned up no sign of Gerry.

The family believe that Gerry was not forcibly abducted from his home in the sense of him being physically and violently manhandled. Whomever he left with he did so of his own volition, or at least without resistance. At the same time the possibility remains that he was confronted at gunpoint outside his home by those he stepped outside to speak with and calculating the odds acquiesced in their demand to go without a struggle. However, the family are certain that at some point shortly after Gerry ventured outside his front door he was forcibly held against his will, most likely at the destination he travelled to with those he met outside his home. After that the family can only fear the worst.  Its severe trauma is compounded by the fact that it has received no information as to his whereabouts. Family members are at their wits’ end.

Shortly after he was reported missing Belinda thanked the Gardai who she felt had done a ‘brilliant’ job. Now she is not so sure. Tosh Laverty a former garda diver underlined this concern of Belinda Daly when on Hidden Dead he claimed how quickly a missing person investigation goes cold. It is not he argued the result of a lack of will but more one of resources. Belinda Daly knows that as each week passes, given what Tosh Laverty had to say, the ‘brilliance’ of the Gardai effort diminishes and the case grows cold. The more that is allowed to happen the less chance the family have of ever discovering what fate befell Gerry that June evening six months ago.

The family, having made its own private inquiries, now believe Gerry has been taken by criminals he had either dealings with or a confrontation.  Some have mulled over the possibility that there may be a republican connection although it is felt that this seems to be the least likely option. However if there is any republican involvement the family earnestly request that it be told so that its anguish may be brought to a close.

As Barry Cummins points out that the experience of the IRA yielding its own hidden dead has shown that:

The recovery of such bodies is clear proof that people with information can still help find bodies even thirty years after a body is hidden ...  there are people out there who have the answers, who can help bring an end to the torment of families.

The family is aware that this holds the key to unlocking the mystery of Gerry Daly’s vanishing. The anguish of the family is palpable on its Facebook page Appeal for Missing Gerry Daly,  where the following heartfelt plea was made:

Christmas is approaching fast and it's hard not to think about our missing brother and whether we will have him home with us on Christmas Day. If ever there was a time to reach down deep and do the right thing, it's now. All you have to do is make an anonymous phone call to someone who can pass the information along - a priest, doctor, teacher or the confidential lines 1800 666 111 or 0852092119.

Sadly, it is most likely too late for anything to be done on behalf of Gerry Daly. He will not spend Christmas Day in the company of those who love him. But the people who took him know what happened to him. Someone amongst them urgently needs to step up to the plate and release the family from their pain. There is any number of ways in which this could be done without risk to those providing the information. If Gerry is dead the family seek a burial not a court room trial.  Whatever grievance may have been harboured against Gerry Daly from whatever source, there is no reason for his family to be punished. Its anguish, despair and pain should be brought to an end.