Family of missing woman urge her to make contact

The family of a south Dublin woman missing for almost seven weeks say they are becoming increasingly concerned for her safety.

Ms Claire Boylan was last seen at her Terenure home on Sunday, March 2nd. Since then she has not used any of her bank cards. She had taken no personal effects, luggage or her passport from the home she shared with her parents at the time of her disappearance.

The 36-year-old bookshop manager told her parents on March 2nd she intended to travel to Tullamore to see an old school friend who had settled there. However, she never made the trip and had not contacted her friend to say she intended to travel to the Offaly town.

Yesterday, Ms Boylan's brother, Bernard, said her family were now "very anxious" to hear from her.

Addressing her directly at a press briefing in Dublin, he said: "Hello, Claire, if you can hear this and have decided to take time out for private reasons we respect and fully support that decision. If you are worried about contacting us there is no need to be. You could contact us or any of your friends in Ireland or abroad, just to let us know you are safe, that's all we need to know. It would be great if that could happen. We love you very much."

Mr Boylan said while his sister had gone missing for a number of days in the past, she could not be described as an attention-seeker. She was a shy and retiring woman. Friends and family had noticed no change in her in the time leading up to her disappearance apart from the fact she had complained of being tired.

"But she was very busy at work and that alone may have accounted for it," Mr Boylan said. Ms Boylan has three brothers living in Dublin and two sisters who live in Germany and US. But she had not contacted any of her siblings. She had studied in Wales when she was in her 20s but as far as the family were aware she had not contacted anybody she knew in Wales, Scotland or England.

Mr Boylan added he had reported his sister missing to the gardaí at Terenure on Tuesday March 4th. "She had a day off on the Monday so when she didn't come back on that date, we were not too worried. But it would be very unlike her not to go to work on Tuesday. She is the shop manager and is not the type of person to leave people in the lurch, she is very conscientious."

In the fortnight after she left home there were numerous sightings of her around the Terenure area. While these had been unconfirmed they had reassured the family as Ms Boylan is "a creature of habit and often went walking around Terenure".

However, the sightings stopped on March 15th and since then her family have grown increasingly concerned.

Mr Boylan said his parents are "elderly and frail" and were now distraught. "We will be extremely anxious until we get some positive news," he said.

Ms Boylan is 5 feet 4 inches, with short brown curly hair, "which may have grown more bushy in the weeks since she disappeared".

She has green eyes, an oval face and walks with a slight stoop. A waist-length blue jacket with yellow collar was missing from her belongings and it is believed she was wearing this when she disappeared.

Sgt John Duffy from Terenure Garda station said gardaí were treating the case as a missing persons investigation. "It is not being considered a crime."