Irish PM says case of missing boy believed to be dead utterly heartbreaking

Simon Harris says eight-year-old Kyran Durnin was failed badly

File: Gardai forensic officers at a house in Dundalk, Co Louth as they search a former family home, in the investigation into the suspected murder of eight-year-old Kyran Durnin (Niall Carson/PA Wire)

Ireland’s prime minister Simon Harris described the case of Kyran Durnin as “deeply disturbing” and questioned how an eight-year-old child’s disappearance went unnoticed for so long.

Mr Harris said the child, missing for two months and believed to be dead, was failed badly. “How was this child failed? How could an eight-year-old little boy effectively disappear and not be noticed?” he asked.

Police launched a murder investigation into Kyran’s case. He was reported missing with his mother in August this year. Kyran’s mother has been found, but the boy remains missing and is believed to have been dead for up to two years, according to authorities.

He was last known to be attending school until mid-2022. Authorities are conducting forensic searches at his former home in Dundalk, but no body has been found to date.

The case has shocked Ireland, with officials, including Mr Harris, questioning how Kyran’s disappearance went unnoticed for so long. Authorities and child protection agencies are investigating potential failures in his case, with calls for accountability if lapses are confirmed.

“For any of us as a human being, for any of us parents, to think that a child can effectively disappear and go unnoticed … is utterly heartbreaking and clearly something went extraordinarily wrong here. This child was failed and was failed badly,” Mr Harris said.

Authorities in Dundalk initiated a forensic search of the house and surrounding grounds where Kyran lived, following a court order. They clarified that the current residents of the property, a red-brick terrace house, are not connected to Kyran or his disappearance.

The search aims to uncover any evidence that could shed light on what happened to the boy.

Speaking outside Dundalk garda station, chief superintendent Alan McGovern said: “Despite extensive inquiries carried out by gardai to date, we have been unable to either locate Kyran, identify any information on his current whereabouts or any evidence that he is currently alive.

“Following inquiries to date, investigating gardai now believe that Kyran is missing, presumed dead.”

The justice minister, Helen McEntee said: “Unfortunately the view is that he is most likely dead and has passed away, but we need to understand what’s happened.

“We need to know have there been failures here, where have those failures been taking taking place, but also who is responsible for them.

“I am absolutely adamant if there were failings here, they need to be addressed and people need to be held accountable.”