Ireland Crimes and Mysteries

00:00 Hey guys and welcome to another episode of Ireland Crimes and Mysteries. I want to thank you for joining me today. And if you're a returning listener, I want to say a big thank you for your continued support. 00:11 If this is your first time listening to my podcast, welcome. It's great to have you on board. 00:17 So without further ado, let's get started on today's story. 00:22 Ireland Crimes and Mysteries is presented by Go Loud, Ireland's leading audio publisher and the home of Irish podcasts. Find new episodes on the podcast first on the Go Loud app and on your favourite podcast platform. 00:39 Just before midday on Monday the 1st of December 1997, a local farmer went to check livestock at Tinker's Lane in Noctemore County, Galway. 00:50 About 100 yards down the narrow lane, he found the body of a woman. She was fully clothed. 00:57 The woman was 47-year-old Eileen Costello O'Shocknessy. 01:02 Eileen was a mother of two and worked as a taxi driver in Galway. 01:07 She had started her shift at 8 o'clock the previous morning. 01:10 At about 8 that evening, Eileen radioed the taxi base to say she was taking a fare to Clare Galway. 01:17 When the base tried to contact her about 20 minutes later, she didn't answer. 01:21 Eileen was due to meet the taxi owner at the Dyke Road car park at 9 o'clock where she would hand over the keys to the car and finish her shift for the night. But she never arrived. 01:32 Her colleagues became concerned and began searching Galway for both Eileen and the silver Toyota Corina she had been driving. 01:40 Shortly before midnight, the taxi was found at Leiden House Bakery on the Toome Road, but Eileen wasn't there. 01:49 The search continued through the night while her family waited for news. 01:54 Eileen had been murdered but what happened after her final radio contact has never been established. 02:01 Nearly 29 years later no one has ever been charged for her murder. 02:06 So what happened after Eileen told the taxi base she was taking a fare to Clare Galway? 02:12 Hey guys and welcome back to Ireland Crimes and Mysteries. I'm your host Newells and I hope you all have had a great week. 02:18 Today's episode is about the murder of Eileen Costello O'Shocknessy and the final hour of her taxi shift, which has never been fully explained. 02:27 Some parts of Eileen's case involve details of serious violence, so just bear that in mind before we continue. 02:34 But before we get to that Sunday evening, I want to, as always, begin with Eileen herself and the life she was living in 1997. Eileen Costello was originally from Currifin in County Galway. 02:47 Eileen was 47 years old and was living in Currifin with her mother Nora. 02:52 She had separated from her husband Tom O'Shocknessy. They had two adult children, Susan and Damien. 02:59 Eileen had married when she was about 20 and had Susan and Damien while she was still in her early 20s. 03:06 Susan later said that because there was not that much of an age difference between them she sometimes felt as though she had grown up alongside her mother. 03:15 Susan said they were very close. They did not agree obviously on everything but they were very much part of one another's lives. 03:22 Eileen's daughter Susan was living in London at the time while Damien lived in Galway and worked for Digital. 03:29 Eileen also had Crohn's disease. Her brother PJ remembered periods where she was in a lot of pain and he remembered how hard that was for Nora to watch. 03:40 By 1997 though, her family said she had found a way to manage the condition much, much better. 03:48 She was a small woman. A report published shortly after her murder described her as being about five foot one and weighing under seven stone and said she took medication every day. 04:01 Eileen and Nora, her mother, were extremely close. PJ said the one place they tended to clash was in the kitchen, simply because both of them wanted to do the cooking. 04:12 Her family described Eileen as strong and independent with a quick wit. 04:16 She was outgoing, loved meeting people and, according to her family, was not easily frightened. 04:22 She loved music and dancing and she enjoyed playing cards. 04:26 She particularly liked country and western music, jiving and waltzing and she enjoyed games of 25. She would have an occasional brandy but her family said she would rarely drink. 04:38 Her brother Martin later recalled that Eileen would sometimes attend mass during her break from work. Her fate was very important to her. 04:47 By November 1997 Eileen had been driving taxis in Galway for about two and a half years. 04:54 She worked with Galway taxis and was one of only a small number of women taxi drivers working in the city at the time. 05:01 Before driving taxis Eileen had tried hairdressing and sales but taxi work suited her. She liked being out and about meeting people and talking to them instead of being in the same place all day. 05:14 Eileen kept careful records of her fares and her mileage and she preferred to work during the day. 05:20 Her family said that she was careful about the passengers she accepted, particularly because of the fact she was working alone. Eileen carried a mobile phone, used the taxi radio and knew the distress code and carried a disabling spray. 05:35 The silver Toyota Corina registration number 97G6663 did not belong to Eileen. She shared it with its owner, with Eileen normally working the day shift before handing the car over for the night shift. 05:51 Damien sometimes met Eileen for a coffee at Supermax while she was working in Galway when she had her break. 05:57 When she had a break, Eileen would often use it to see family and friends. Eileen's nephew Kenny had been living in Australia and had just come home that Sunday, 30th of November 1997. 06:09 Eileen started work at 8 o'clock on that Sunday morning and was due to hand the taxi back at 9 that night. 06:16 Her first job was a pick-up at Rahoon. Later that morning she took a passenger from the Headford Road to Kent Railway Station. 06:25 From there, she drove back past the university towards Newcastle. She picked up another passenger near Supermax in Newcastle and brought them into the Eyre Square area. 06:35 Around midday, Eileen headed back towards Currifine. She met a friend for lunch and called in to check on her mother, Nora. Because her nephew Kenny had returned from Australia that day, which was earlier than the family had actually expected, before Eileen returned to Galway, she popped in to see him. 06:53 At about half past two, she met another friend for tea in the Skeffington Arms. They spoke about Kenny coming home and about Susan, who was expected back from London for Christmas. 07:04 After that, Eileen returned to work. 07:07 Gardie were later able to trace the people she had seen and the passengers she had carried up to that point. 07:13 Shortly after six o'clock that evening, CCTV footage later broadcast by RTE showed Eileen at Supermax near Square. She used the ladies' toilet, bought a drink and then went back out to work. A number of other people were nearby. 07:30 At about half past seven, Eileen completed the last fare whose passengers are known. They later came forward and were interviewed by Gardaí. 07:38 The next hour is the part of Eileen's night that has never been fully explained. So Gardaí could account for everyone Eileen had carried up to about 7.30. 07:49 But the passenger she reported half an hour later has never been publicly identified. 07:56 At 7.59pm Eileen tried to ring Nora but the call did not connect. It has never been established why. 08:04 Her last confirmed message to the taxi base came one minute later. 08:09 At around eight o'clock, a woman believed to be in her mid-thirties was seen speaking through the window of Eileen's taxi near Supermax in the main Gard Street and Cross Street area. She had shoulder-length dark hair. Gardie later tried to trace her, but it was never made public whether she was identified. 08:26 At about the same time, Eileen contacted the taxi base and said she was taking a fare to Clare Galway. 08:33 The passenger was believed to have been picked up somewhere around Cross Street or Key Street, although the exact spot has never been confirmed. 08:41 It is also not known whether the dark-haired woman seen at the taxi was connected to that fare. RTE said it was uncertain how many passengers were in the taxi at that stage. 08:52 There has never been any public confirmation of who the passenger was. 08:56 About 20 minutes after Eileen contacted the base, they tried to reach her again. There was no reply. The message about the Clare Galway fare was the last time anyone at the taxi base heard from Eileen. RT reported that the investigation placed Eileen's death somewhere between 8 and 10 o'clock that night. 09:14 Shortly after 8 o'clock, witnesses later recalled seeing the taxi stopped on the hard shoulder of the N17, about three miles outside Galway. Its lights were on and the roof sign was illuminated. 09:27 A witness then saw the taxi turn right at the junction beside the Mystical Rose nursing home and into Tinker's Lane. 09:34 The driver did not indicate before making that turn. 09:38 Those sightings do not tell us who was driving or whether Eileen had already been attacked. 09:45 And just to be clear here, when I say that somebody saw something at 8.30 or 8.45, that does not mean they reported it to Gardie at the exact time. These witnesses came forward later, after Eileen and the taxi were missing and Gardie then pieced the times together. So time would have been obviously lost, you know. At about 8.30, another witness saw a blonde-haired woman walking towards Galway along the hard shoulder of the N17 close to Tinker's Lane. She was walking against the traffic and appeared distracted. 10:15 Gardie later described the woman as being in her mid-twenties, about five foot six of medium build. She was believed to have been wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. This was close to Tinker's Lane where Eileen's body was found the following day. Gardie repeatedly appealed for the blonde-haired woman to come forward but she has never been identified. It has never been established whether she had been in Eileen's taxi or whether she was connected to Eileen at all. 10:44 At 8.45pm a learner driver said Eileen's taxi passed them at more than 30 mile an hour and forced them to pull in. 10:51 Another witness then saw the Toyota being driven erratically around Castlegar as it continued back towards Galway. 10:58 At about 8.45 a motorist came up behind Eileen's taxi as it travelled back towards Galway. The motorist overtook it at Leader's shop and as they passed saw a bearded man was driving. 11:10 He was later described as being between 30 and 50 with dark hair, a dark beard but he wasn't heavily built. 11:17 This is the first reported sighting that clearly shows somebody other than Eileen was driving the taxi. 11:24 So by 8.45 Eileen was no longer driving but we still don't know when that changed. 11:30 The motorist watched as the Toyota turned left into the grounds of Leidenhouse Bakery on the Toome Road. 11:37 Another passerby said that they noticed that the taxi's interior light was on shortly before nine o'clock. 11:43 At nine o'clock, Eileen was due to meet the owner of the taxi at Dyke Road Car Park, where, as we know now, she didn't arrive to. 11:52 At around the same time, another witness saw a man jumping down from a wall near Leidenhouse Bakery. He was described as being in his 20s, about 5 foot 10 or 11 and of average build, with short red hair and several days of growth of beard. 12:07 He was wearing a green jacket and carrying a cream or beige canvas sports bag. 12:12 He then walked in the direction of Galway. That man has never been identified either. 12:18 Gardier have never confirmed whether the man seen near the wall was the same bearded man who was driving Eileen's taxi, although their descriptions are quite different, even though they have the beard. The ages, I suppose, are quite different. 12:32 At about 9.10pm a witness saw a young man crossing a field behind a house. He was walking towards Toome and appeared to be lost. The witness thought it was strange that he was crossing the field because it was a wet night and there was a footpath that he could have used. 12:47 We don't know whether that was the bearded man that was seen jumping off the wall or the bearded driver or somebody else entirely. 12:54 The sightings were included in the RTE reconstruction that was done during a Garda appeal in 2022. 13:00 The forensic examination of the taxi meter showed that the final fare had covered between 16 and 17 miles. 13:07 Investigators said the distance would fit with the taxi travelling from Galway to Tingers Lane and then back to Leiden House. 13:14 So it gives us a possible route for the taxi during that missing hour, but it still does not tell us who Eileen collected in Galway, what happened to her before the car returned to the city. 13:27 When Eileen failed to meet the taxi owner her colleagues obviously became concerned. They began searching Galway for both Eileen and the silver Toyota. Other taxi drivers joined the search driving around Galway and the roads out of the city looking for Eileen or the Carina. 13:43 Shortly before midnight the taxi was then found at Leidenhouse Bakery. 13:49 A later account gave the time as 11.44pm. Three bakery workers had come across the Toyota and believed it might have been stolen or abandoned. They began moving it to a safer position and one of them then contacted Mill Street Garda Station. 14:05 Obviously, at that point, the bakery workers had no reason to know what had happened to Eileen, but the taxi had already been entered and moved before it was treated as a possible crime scene. 14:17 RTE also reported that a group of young people had come across the taxi before it was secured. They reached through the open driver's window and took Eileen's mobile phone and cigarettes. 14:27 According to the programme, the phone battery was not working, the phone was smashed and left a couple of hundred yards away, where it was later recovered. 14:35 There was no suggestion that the young people or the bakery workers have any involvement in Eileen's murder. 14:42 Eileen's taxi was in the grounds of Leiden House Bakery on the Toome Road. It was parked awkwardly in the middle of the car park. The lights were off. The driver's window was open and the keys were still in the ignition. 14:54 Inside there were signs that something violent had happened. Blood was visible on the driver's seat and armrest and hair was found inside of the taxi. Equipment in the dashboard had also been pulled out or disturbed. Eileen's money belt was found in the car along with a plastic container she used for coins. At least some cash was still there. 15:16 Detective Superintendent Christy Mangan later pointed to the money left behind. He said it showed that whoever had been in the taxi was not simply taking all of Eileen's cash. 15:26 Once the taxi was found, Gardie began searching the Toome Road, Tinker's Lane and surrounding industrial estate. 15:33 The Toyota was taken to Dublin for a detailed forensic examination while the search for Eileen continued. 15:40 Reports from the opening days said up to 60 Gardaí and detectives were involved, including members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. 15:49 At home in Kerfin, Nora kept ringing Eileen's mobile and waiting for her to answer. She stayed awake through the night and was still waiting for news the following morning. 16:00 Nora did not know that the phone had been taken from the taxi and later left smashed near Leidenhouse. 16:07 At about two o'clock that morning a witness saw a small red car at Tinker's Lane. The car reversed up the lane with its parking lights on. 16:15 The people inside have never been identified and Gardie have never said the car was directly connected to Eileen's murder. 16:23 Just before midnight on Monday the 1st of December, a local farmer went to check livestock at Tinker's Lane. The lane ran between fields just off the N17 near the Mystical Rose nursing home. 16:36 About 100 yards from the main road, the farmer found Eileen's body. Another farmer had passed the entrance to Tinker's Lane earlier that morning, had not noticed anything unusual, but there was no way to tell from that when Eileen's body had been left in the lane. 16:51 Father Michael Mould-Cairns attended the scene and administered the last rites. 16:56 Eileen's body was taken to University College Galway Hospital where state pathologist Dr John Harbison carried out a post-mortem examination. 17:05 The post-mortem found that Eileen had died from severe head injuries caused with considerable force. 17:11 The injuries had been inflicted with a blunt object. 17:14 Detective Inspector Christy Mangan later said the attack appeared to have been so sudden and severe that Eileen had little or no opportunity to defend herself. 17:24 She had not been sexually assaulted. 17:27 Retired Superintendent Tony Finnerty, who worked on the investigation, later told RTE that the technical examination showed a vicious attack had taken place inside of the taxi. 17:39 RTE's reconstruction suggested that Eileen was fatally attacked during the journey out to Tinker's Lane. 17:45 The Garda appeal in 2022 did not go that far. It said the condition of the car showed that Eileen may have been injured there. 17:54 Tony Finnerty said a vicious attack had taken place inside the taxi. What has never been established is whether the injuries that killed Eileen were inflicted there or somewhere else. No weapon has ever been recovered. 18:07 One of the investigators interviewed by RTE said he had no doubt that whoever killed Eileen would have been covered in blood. 18:15 He believed that person then made their way home somewhere in Galway. In his view, somebody may have noticed a change in their behaviour afterwards or that a jacket or coat worn that night had suddenly disappeared. 18:30 Gardie now had Eileen's taxi, but they also had a huge elimination job ahead of them. The car produced hundreds of fingerprints. Gardie had to identify people who had an innocent reason for being in or around the taxi and to eliminate their prints before they could focus on anything unexplained. 18:49 Samples of blood and hair found inside the taxi were taken for examination. To this day, Gardie have never announced a fingerprint match or DNA breakthrough from the car. 19:00 Gardie carried out house-to-house inquiries, set up checkpoints and searched around Tinker's Lane, Toome Road and the industrial estate near the bakery. They also examined the CCTV that was available from the industrial area and Galway City Centre. 19:15 Gardaí searched sections of the Toome Road for a weapon over the following days, but nothing found during those searches was ever identified as the murder weapon. 19:24 Gardaí also investigated a report from Urndrum Quarry, about four miles further along the road. 19:32 Blood and footprints had been reported at the quarry and samples were sent away for testing. 19:38 Testing later showed that the blood of the quarry came from Ananima. After that, the quarry was no longer treated as a lead in Eileen's murder. 19:47 By early December, around 1,000 people had been interviewed. By the third week, reports said that figure had risen to 2,000. 19:55 Within days of Eileen's death, Crimeline prepared a reconstruction of her final journey. Calls came in, but none produced a breakthrough. 20:05 At the same time, Eileen's family were preparing for her funeral. Her daughter Susan, who was living in London but had been on holiday in Australia when she heard what had happened, returned home for her funeral. 20:17 On Thursday evening, Eileen's remains were brought from Byrne's Funeral Parlour in Chewm to St Colm's Church in Curriffin. 20:25 Her recreation mass took place at noon the following day, Friday the 5th of December, and hundreds of people attended. More than a hundred taxi drivers travelled from around and formed a guard of honour outside the church. 20:39 Almost every taxi and hackney in Galway carried a black ribbon on its aerial and most of the city's taxi firms closed for the funeral. 20:47 During the mass the parish priest Father Paddy Williams spoke about the courage and spirit Eileen had shown throughout her life. 20:54 He also spoke about how highly she was regarded by the other taxi drivers. 21:00 After mass, Eileen was buried in Kilmoyland Cemetery. 21:05 The day before the funeral, her brother Martin had made a public appeal. 21:09 He asked anyone with even the smallest piece of information to contact Gardaí because it could prove important. 21:17 During the same week, Gardie asked a woman who had phoned Mill Street Station on Wednesday night to contact them again. 21:24 The caller said she had substantial information, but there is nothing in the public record to show that Gardie were ever able to identify her. Robbery was one of the possibilities being considered during those first days. Martin believed that if someone had tried to take the money from the taxi, Eileen would have resisted, particularly because the money didn't belong to her. 21:46 Some early reports said between £70 and £80 in takings was missing, but Eileen's money belt, coin container and at least some cash were still in the taxi. 21:57 Robbery was never established as the motive and the motive remains unknown to this day. 22:03 Eileen's murder also raised questions about taxi driver safety, especially for the small number of women who were doing the job in Galway. The chairman of Galway Taxis, Ciarán Donoghue, said it had been a very difficult week for Eileen's colleagues, especially for the other women drivers in the city. 22:21 The issue was raised in the Shannon by Galway Senator Margaret Cox, who called for taxi driver safety measures to be reviewed. 22:28 That same week, three Galway taxi firms came together and offered a £5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. 22:36 Local businesses and further fundraising increased their reward to £25,000 by February of 1998. 22:45 Crimestoppers later added another £5,000, bringing the total to £30,000. 22:51 In January of 2001, the Irish Independent reported that an anonymous donor had increased the total reward to 80,000. 22:59 Now, I should say that 80,000 was the figure reported at the time. I couldn't confirm that it remains available today. 23:07 Despite the reward, Gardie still did not get the information they needed. 23:13 After Eileen's death, Damien moved into Nora's home and lived with her for six years. 23:19 PJ said Nora had already lost her first daughter in infancy. She lived for about another 11 years after Eileen's murder and died without knowing who had killed her daughter. 23:30 Some of the early leads were resolved fairly quickly. 23:34 One involved a 20 year old woman who had been hitchhiking near Noctemore at around midnight on the night Eileen disappeared. 23:41 The motorist who picked her up said she seemed extremely upset and contacted Gardie because she thought she might have seen something. 23:48 Gardie found the woman but she was unable to help with the investigation. 23:53 Now this was not the blonde haired woman seen near the N17 at around 8.30. That woman as I said has never been identified. 24:01 A key ring found inside Eileen's taxi was also traced to its owner. That person was eliminated from the inquiry. On the 16th of December, Gardie released a photo fit of a man they believed at that stage may have been Eileen's last passenger. He was described as being about 20, of average build and wearing a baseball cap. 24:21 A second photo fit was later issued of the fair or red-haired man seen near Leidenhouse. 24:27 Gardaí said they could not tell whether the two reports involved the same person. 24:32 No one shown in either photo fit has ever been publicly identified. 24:38 Two days after the first photo of it was released, Gardaí examined another incident in Galway. 24:43 At about one o'clock on the morning of the 18th of December, a woman reported that a man had opened her car door and tried to pull her from the vehicle in the Castle Gar and Sandy Vale lawn area. 24:55 Gardie investigated whether that attempted abduction could be connected to Eileen's murder but no link has ever been established. 25:02 In January 1998 Gardie also appealed for a couple who had been at the Galway Taxi's office on the main Gard Street at about 7 o'clock on the night Eileen disappeared. 25:14 Eileen was believed to have been nearby and Gardie thought the couple might have seen something without realising its importance. 25:21 It has never been made public whether that couple were found. 25:25 Some leads were still being followed months later. By August of 1998 Gardie were trying to trace two men who had been in the area around the time Eileen's taxi was left at Leidenhouse Bakery. They also wanted to identify two passengers who had taken an early train from Galway to Dublin on the morning of the 1st of December. Both men were said to have English accents. Gardie never said whether any of those men were identified. 25:51 Gardie also followed a lead in Britain. 25:54 On the night Eileen disappeared, a man had been seen harassing a student at Kent Station in Galway. Another woman intervened and the man eventually stopped. The two women then boarded a bus. As they were leaving they noticed a taxi pulling into the station which they believed may have been Eileen's. Reports at the time said the man had a history of drug use and violent offending. 26:17 Gardaí carried out interviews in Britain but they never said that the man had entered Eileen's taxi or linked him publicly to her death. 26:26 By the first anniversary of Eileen's murder, around 10,000 people had been interviewed or contacted during the wider inquiry and approximately 3,000 formal statements had been taken. 26:37 A report published around the first anniversary said Gardaí were waiting to question an unnamed man being held in Brixton Prison in London. 26:46 The man had admitted one murder and an attempted murder. He had also been linked to the death of a former girlfriend in Scotland and had been in Galway around the time Eileen was killed. 26:57 Later accounts said a prisoner in Britain was interviewed as part of the inquiry but no public link to Eileen's murder was ever established. 27:06 There were also a number of unexplained telephone calls to Eileen's family home. 27:11 Nora remembered receiving silent calls during the weeks before her daughter's death. More calls came afterwards. 27:19 On one occasion, a woman rang the family crying and repeatedly said that she was sorry. Gardie traced the call to a telephone box in West Dublin. 27:28 Kenny did not assume that the woman had anything to do with Eileen's murder. He said she could simply have been someone who was upset by what had happened and wanted to express sympathy. There is no evidence that the caller was involved in Eileen's murder. 27:42 There was a separate report about another woman who said she had information. Years later, the Connacht Tribune reported that a woman approached a taxi driver in Eyre Square within weeks of the murder and told him she had vital information. 27:56 She never contacted Gardaí. 27:59 In 1999, Gardaí distributed 5,000 leaflets as part of another public appeal. A Crimeline broadcast generated more than 100 calls, but there was still no breakthrough. 28:11 After a later broadcast, seven more calls came in, including one described as urgent. Gardie asked two men to contact them again. One said he had given a male hitchhiker a lift on the outskirts of Galway on the night Eileen was murdered. The other said he had vital information but no outcomes had been made public. Almost three years later in July 2000 Gardie made another appeal. 28:34 They wanted to find a woman who had given a male hitchhiker a lift into Galway on the afternoon Eileen was killed. 28:41 The man had been picked up between 3 and 4pm on the R365, just off the N63 Galway to Roscommon Road. 28:49 He was dropped near Galway Shopping Centre or the Headford Road between 4 and 5pm. 28:55 Gardie believed the woman who gave him the lift might have information that could help them. 29:00 Nothing further was reported after the 2000 appeal. 29:05 Other vehicles were also reported near Tinker's Lane. An earlier appeal mentioned a dark car leaving the lane and in 2003 Gardaí asked about a large car seen leaving the same area. 29:17 Neither vehicle have ever publicly been linked to Eileen's murder. The small red car seen at about 2am was the only vehicle from Tinker's Lane mentioned again in a Gardaí appeal in 2022. 29:30 One of the people Gardie questioned during the original investigation in 1997 was Thomas Murray. The Irish Times later reported that Gardie had regarded him as a suspect almost immediately after Eileen's body was found and that he was arrested and questioned. 29:46 At the time, he was on temporary release from prison and working as a labourer in Galway. 29:52 Murray had previously been convicted for murdering William Mannion in 1981 when Murray was only 17 years old. 29:59 When Gardie questioned him about Eileen, Murray said he had been at a boarding house where he was staying that night. 30:06 The couple who ran the house first appeared to confirm his account so he was released after that first questioning. At that stage Gardie believed he had an alibi and could not drive. 30:17 Gardie later learned that the couple had been away from the house between eight and nine that evening. 30:23 That meant their original account could no longer place Murray in the house during the hour Eileen disappeared. 30:30 Gardie later learned that Murray had been taught to drive while in custody. 30:35 Then, in February 2000, Murray murdered Nancy Nolan in Sligo. He was convicted of her murder later that year. 30:44 In July 2001, while serving that sentence, Murray was brought to Roscommon Garda Station and questioned about Eileen's murder for a second time. 30:52 He was returned to custody afterwards. Murray has never been charged with, tried for or convicted of Eileen's murder. 31:00 In 2002, Eileen's family spoke publicly about Gardie questioning Murray. Nora said she believed Gardie were talking to the wrong man. 31:10 She did not believe Eileen knew Thomas Murray and she did not think her daughter would have accepted him as a passenger. 31:17 Martin also raised concerns about people who had refused to provide their fingerprints. As I said, hundreds of fingerprints had been recovered from Eileen's taxi and Garda had spent a lot of time trying to identify and eliminate them. 31:30 A senior Garda said some of the people who had refused to give fingerprints had been ruled out in other ways. 31:37 By 2003, reports said approximately 800 people had provided fingerprints as part of the elimination work. 31:45 Neither of the later Garda appeals in 2017 or 2022 named Thomas Murray. 31:51 Eileen's murder was later reviewed as a cold case. 31:55 The findings from those reviews have never been made public. 32:00 Gardaí have not said what, if anything, was retested during these reviews. 32:05 They have also never said whether anything recovered from the taxi could be examined using newer forensic methods. No DNA match, fingerprints match or other forensic breakthrough have ever been announced. 32:19 In August 2012, almost 15 years after Eileen's murder, her case was featured on RTE's Cracking Crime The Cold Cases. 32:28 The programme included interviews with Eileen's family and senior investigators who had worked on the case. It reconstructed Eileen's movements that Sunday and again appealed for the unidentified witnesses from the final hour of her shift to come forward Later that year, more than 400 taxis in Galway began carrying justice for Eileen's stickers. 32:49 The stickers were intended to keep Eileen's case out there in the public view and encourage anyone with information to contact Gardaí. Money was also raised for Pieta House West as part of that campaign. The taxi drivers who had formed the Guard of Honour at Eileen's funeral were still campaigning for her 15 years later. 33:07 Then, in November 2017, Eileen's murder was featured on Crime Call. The programme went back again over her final day, the search for her taxi, the sightings from the night she disappeared. Gardaí received a number of calls after that programme. These were described locally as new leads, but no outcome from them has ever been announced. 33:28 By then, Gardie were still trying to identify the blonde woman seen near Tinker's Lane, the bearded man driving Eileen's taxi, the man in the green jacket and the occupants of the small red car. The next public appeal came five years later. 33:43 On the 30th of November 2022, exactly 25 years after Eileen was murdered, a plaque was unveiled at the top of the taxi rank in Ayr Square. 33:54 It marked the place where Eileen had worked and waited for fares. 33:58 Members of Eileen's family attended along with friends, former colleagues, Gardaí and representatives from Galway County Council. 34:06 The plaque was unveiled by the Mayor of Galway, Clodagh Higgins. 34:10 At the ceremony, Detective Superintendent Shane Cummins confirmed that Eileen's murder was still being treated as a live investigation. 34:18 He said that life was very different in 2022 than it had been in 1997. 25 years had passed, relationships and circumstances might have changed and someone who stayed silent at the time might now feel able to speak. 34:33 Gardie again appealed for help in identifying the four people connected to the outstanding sightings from that night. They wanted to identify those four people. 34:42 Eileen's brothers, Martin and PJ, also renewed the family's appeal for information. 34:48 PJ was living in Canada, but 25 years later, the family still needed to know what had happened to their sister. Martin continued speaking publicly about his sister's murder. He appealed directly to the public, spoke about the family's concerns and asked anyone with information to come forward. 35:05 On the 20th of May 2023, Martin died. 35:10 He had spent more than 25 years campaigning for answers and died without seeing anyone charged with his sister's murder. 35:17 As of August 2026, the Garda appeal from November 22 was still the most recent public update I could find. 35:26 The investigation remains live and there has been no public announcement of an arrest or a charge. In that appeal, Garley asked for anyone with information to come forward, even if it seemed insignificant. 35:38 Eileen's family had been waiting for answers since 1997. 35:43 Anyone with information can contact Arnmore Garda Station on 091 388 030 or the Garda Confidential line on 1800 666 111. 35:58 The fact that Eileen's murder remains unsolved must be so frustrating for her family. So please, if you do have any information, please help try and bring this nightmare to a close for them. 36:10 Thanks very much guys and I'll see you all next week. 36:14 So guys, that's it for today's episode of the Ireland Crimes and Mysteries podcast. Again, thanks for your listenership. And don't forget to subscribe to the show and hit that auto download so you never miss an episode. 36:25 Until the next time, keep your eyes open and your mind curious. 36:31 This podcast has been compiled from information gathered in the public sphere, like news articles, documentaries and open source material that can be found on the web. 36:43 Everything in this podcast is alleged unless a conviction has taken place.