A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder as part of the investigation into the disappearance of schoolboy Kyran Durnin.
The man is being detained at a Garda station in the east of the country under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.
Gardaí said they have completed a search at one house in Drogheda. “Further details of this search are not being released for operational reasons,” they said.
A search at a second house is continuing. “The house and gardens will be subject to intrusive search and subject to technical and forensic examinations,” gardaí said.
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The search is being carried out by the divisional search team, supported by the Garda National Technical Bureau and Forensic Science Ireland. The search is also being supported by a specialist cadaver dog.
“The purpose of these searches are to discover any evidence which might provide us with information as to Kyrans’ current whereabouts or what has happened to Kyran,” gardaí said.
Kyran, who would now be eight years old, was reported missing in August 2024, but gardaí suspect he may have been killed up to two years ago.
The last positive sighting of Kyran was at the end of the school year in 2022, when he was aged six.
It emerged in October 2024 that the boy had been taken out of school at that time, with officials assuming he had moved to a school in Northern Ireland. This meant Kyran’s long-term absence from school went unnoticed by Irish officials.
A woman in her 20s who was arrested earlier this week as part of the investigation was later released without charge.
Gardaí detained the woman on Tuesday after she returned from abroad and was released without charge on Wednesday afternoon.
Detectives are still trying to establish the basic facts of the case, including where and when Kyran died and if his death was definitely a homicide. They have not completely ruled out the possibility he died in some other way, perhaps accidentally, and that his death was concealed for some reason.
An Garda Síochána continues to appeal to any person with any information, on the disappearance and murder of Kyran.
They are asked to contact the Garda investigation team at Drogheda Garda station on 041 987 4200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or to speak with any member of An Garda Síochána.
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