An inquest into the death of a baby in Dublin that reopened yesterday after a gap of more than 32 years was adjourned until next February because the Garda investigation is still ongoing.
Afterwards a woman claiming to be the baby's mother said she would not rest until the questions surrounding the child's death were answered.
The body of the baby was found wrapped in newspaper in Lee's Lane, Dún Laoghaire on April 4th, 1973. A subsequent post-mortem found that she had been stabbed to death shortly after birth.
Despite a public appeal by gardaí, the identity of the baby and its mother was not discovered until 1995 when a woman came forward and reported that she had given birth to the child at the age of 11.
Gardaí made arrests and sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions but no one was charged.
The woman, who has been known only as "Niamh" in media reports, was present at yesterday's inquest. She has claimed that her baby girl, whom she named Noeleen, was the child found dumped in Dún Laoghaire.
She claims she was abused by family members and saw the girl being murdered. She also claims to have given birth to a boy, John, at the age of 15 and that that baby died too.
During a short hearing of County Dublin Coroner's Court, sitting in DúLaoghaire District Court, a Garda inspector requested that the inquest be adjourned under Section 25 (1) of the Coroner's Act as the case was still under investigation. The inquest heard that the matter was at an advanced stage and that a file would be ready for the Director of Public Prosecutions within a month.
The coroner, Dr Kieran Geraghty, pointed out that the matter had been going on for a long time.
Counsel for "Niamh" said she was anxious to have the case heard and dealt with as quickly as possible.
"She has given several statements to the Gardaí already . . . It seems to be a comparatively straightforward matter," said Michael Forde SC.
Dr Geraghty agreed to adjourn the inquest until February 1st.
At that point a woman claiming to be a friend of "Niamh" stood up, saying it was a "cruel adjournment" as "Niamh" had been waiting a long time for the inquest to reopen. Outside, "Niamh" read a prepared statement.
"More than 32 years ago, only 100 yards from this courthouse, the body of my baby daughter was found in a laneway.
"Noeleen had been stabbed to death immediately after her birth. An inquest was opened on April 27th, 1973 and was then adjourned pending Garda investigations," she said.
"It has taken until today to have the inquest reopened. Despite the lengthy passage of time, gardaí have now applied to adjourn the inquest again.
"All of this has been extremely traumatic for me and my immediate family and I am anxious that the full facts of this case should be established as quickly as possible so that justice may finally be done," the statement added.