Mary Boyle

Disclaimer: this article contains details which may be upsetting for some readers. Discretion is advised.

St Patrick's Day is observed across the world each year on 17th March. Once the cause of festivities solely in Ireland, residents would celebrate how their patron saint brought Christianity to their country, establishing churches, monasteries and schools in the 4th century. St Patrick is noted to be the origin for Ireland's beloved symbol - the shamrock - which he reportedly used to explain the holy Trinity, and the country still has a heavy catholic following to this day. The emigration across the centuries of many Irish citizens to the United States turned the tradition of observing the day of their patron saint international, and it rapidly blossomed into a holiday celebrating not just St Patrick, but all things Irish. St Patrick's day parades have been held in the USA ever since the 1700s, and it is used by many as an excuse to let loose and have a good time, decking the streets out with the Irish flag and a stream of green decorations.

For one family in County Donegal, however, St Patrick's day became an annual date of note for an entirely different reason. As a unit of two parents and three children travelled to their relatives' home in Cashelard to celebrate the day as a family, they had no idea that their lives were about to be thrown into turmoil and that they would be returning home with one less in their midst. 

In this casefile, we're going to delve into the tale of Ireland''s longest running missing person inquiry - a case which has remained unsolved for nearly 50 years. This story is about the disappearance and suspected murder of Mary Boyle.

The Disappearance

As wild and untamed as the area appeared, it would have made something of a paradise for children to go outside and play. It was quite, with very few vehicles travelling along the road, and surrounded by open space in which to run, shout and mess around, which is exactly what the three Boyle children were doing that Friday afternoon. Mary had helped her mother to wash up in the cottage kitchen, after which Mary had told her '"mam, I forgot to kiss you this morning,"' before wrapping her arms around her Ann. Ann Boyle would later describe this as the last thing that Mary said to her before she ran out of the door into the garden to play with her siblings and two cousins. 

Ann set about preparing dinner for that evening whilst the children played in the garden, seemingly without a care in the world. 

Gerry Gallagher, Mary's uncle, had been fixing part of the property roof earlier in the day and at 3:30pm he left the cottage to return a ladder to a neighbour, having borrowed it for the day to complete the works. He walked in the direction of the Cawleys' home, a neighbouring farm which sat just 400 yards (370 metres) away on the side of a hill. Mary, full of the intrigue of a six-year-old, had decided to follow him. She was munching on a packet of Tayto crisps (or potato chips, for our international readers/listeners) and merrily hopped after him as he made his way across the land.

However, she paused as they reached a pool of water which was too deep for the young girl to cross - even in her black Wellington boots. The wider land around the grandparent's farm house was formed of soft, boggy fields which made for difficult terrain for a small child and it's not clear who exactly made the decision - whether Mary was told to go home by her uncle or whether she made the decision herself - but she turned back and headed towards the cottage. Gerry Gallagher would later say that Mary had walked away at 3:45pm, and that it should have taken her no more than 5 minutes to reach the safety of the garden. 

Gerry continued on his way, standing at the door of the Cawleys' home to chat to the neighbours for around half an hour before returning back to the St Patrick's Day festivities with his family. He arrived back at the cottage at 4:30pm, thinking nothing to be amiss. 

Ann Boyle would later recall the moment she realised that one of her twin daughter's was missing when speaking in an interview with The Irish News, saying: '"I looked out the front door. The rest of the children were playing in a thicket in the front garden, Mary was not there. Ten minutes later I asked if anyone had seen Mary. I remember in desperation asking my mother to light a candle. I shook Holy water all over the place. I felt so panicky and remember I ran out to the rocks shouting and crying. I hoped and prayed that God would protect her. When Gerry came back to the house he said she had followed him earlier to the Cawleys' house and that she turned back. I got in the car and drove along the road in different directions. It was a nightmare."' Remember, Ireland was - and remains today - a strongly Catholic country, with many people going to Mass on a regular basis. Reminders of this can be found everywhere across the country - a drive down a quiet country lane can result in finding a statue of the Virgin Mary tucked in a hedgerow. It wouldn't be unusual for the first response in an overwhelming situation to turn to God as a first line of support. It would have been a great source of comfort. 

Few properties in rural County Donegal had access to landline phones in the 1970s, something which would cause a crucial delay in the initial hours after Mary disappeared. As the family collectively trawled the area around the farm house, calling for Mary and hoping to hear her small voice in response, they attracted the attention of a group of three fishermen on Lough Colmcille a short distance from the property. Noting immediately that something was wrong, the fishermen rowed their small boat to the shore and spoke to Mary's mother. 

PJ Coughlan, one of the men on board the boat, would later speak to the BBC podcast No Body Recovered and describe the initial reaction to the word of a missing child. He said: '"there was panic, surely, with a wee girl missing on the mountain. They were all out roaring and shouting 'Mary, Mary' - we could hear them for maybe 10 minutes before we could see them."' He would be the one to return to his vehicle, parked on the shore of the lake, and drive the winding country roads west to the town of Ballyshannon to report the disappearance at the Garda Station. 

The Investigation

One local fisherman - although it's unclear if this was one of the three on the lake, or another male - was reported to have told the family that he had seen Mary get into a red car, but this was later clarified in the BBC podcast that he had simply seen a red car in the area, but had not seen Mary getting into it. 

Gardai commenced a search of the Cashelard area which would continue for four long, strenuous weeks as the Boyle family waited desperately for answers. The entirety of a lake beside the grandparent's home was drained in case Mary had perhaps slipped in and drowned, with diggers being drafted in to excavate the lake bed in search of any of her possessions. 

The bogs around the farm house and lying to the east of Cashelard were also drained as much as possible, with the ground then being scoured in a bid to find the slightest clue or hint as to what had happened to the little girl. It was pointed out early on that, even if Mary had slipped into bog land, the crisp packet she had been carrying at the time would likely have stuck to the mud and remained near the surface, yet there was no sign of this in the area.