Inquest to be held into death of Dalkey baby

The Dublin City Coroner is to hold an inquest in September into the death of a child which a Dublin woman claims she gave birth to on April 4th, 1973, when she was 11.

The child, a girl, was found dumped at the time in a lane in Upper George's Street, Dún Laoghaire.

Gardaí believe the woman at the centre of claims that a second baby of hers was buried in the back garden of her house in Dalkey, Co Dublin, may have been raped over a number of years by her father and brothers.

When contacted by telephone at his home in south Dublin last night, the woman's father denied the allegations. "I'm reading it in the papers today, sure it's a great story for you people," he said. "But it's only her story, whoever she is."

Gardaí will today resume their search in the garden of a house in Dalkey for the remains of a second baby, a boy, which the woman claims she gave birth to when she was 14.

Three family members, including the woman's parents and one brother were questioned about the woman's claims in 1995. A second brother took his own life shortly before the arrests in mid-1995.

A file on the allegations was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in 1995 but no prosecution was recommended.

The woman at the centre of the allegations continued to undergo therapy in Britain, where she now lives, and was able to give gardaí more details of the two births, which she believes took place when she was aged 11 and 14.

During the summer of 1995 gardaí added these extra details to the file and it was sent again to the DPP, who recommended that no prosecution be pursued.

It is understood the time elapsed since the alleged offences took place was a major impediment in the case. Other reasons for the failure to pursue a prosecution included lack of independent witnesses and any admission of guilt by the accused parties.

Garda sources last night told The Irish Times that anybody arrested during the investigation so far would not be rearrested unless new evidence emerged.

Gardaí say the woman who has made the allegations is not sure that she gave birth to a second baby, but she strongly believes she did.

She has undergone extensive therapy which has helped her to comprehend the ordeal she went through when she was a child. Details of the two births came back to her "in bits and pieces" during therapy, sources said.

Gardaí are now satisfied that a baby found wrapped in newspaper and black bin bags in a lane in Dún Laoghaire in 1973 was the first baby the woman, then 11, had given birth to.

The child, a girl, has never been identified and is buried at Glasnevin cemetery.

The infant had been stabbed up to 14 times with a knitting needle. When this child was discovered by two boys, gardaí had nothing to link it to the woman who has now come forward.

It was not until she had given a number of statements over the course of a year that the details of the second birth and burial of the infant, a boy, in the Dalkey garden emerged.

About the end of 1995 gardaí sought the advice of experts outside the force to determine if the remains of a newborn baby could survive in the ground for many years. They were advised that this would not be possible.

However, investigators continued with the case and interviewed family members, neighbours and school friends of the woman. In 2002 they sought further advice from an osteo-archaeologist, who advised that recovering an infant's bones after so long in the ground would be "difficult but not impossible".

Gardaí on Monday began the dig at the house at White's Villas, Dalkey. Work continued throughout yesterday although nothing had been found last night.

The search involves officers working through the soil with their hands in an effort to recover any fragments. The dig is expected to take a number of days.