A site on the edge of the village of Donabate, in north Co Dublin, is surrounded by black plastic screens as gardaí search for a missing child who is feared dead.
Access to the five-acre area is through a residential cottage with a black iron gate. Mature trees and bushes dot the site, which is undeveloped but surrounded by new housing schemes.
Gardaí have been acting on information received after the child was reported missing . Officers wearing green overalls came and went from the site on Wednesday during heavy showers and episodes of sunshine.
On the bordering Portrane Road, joggers and dogwalkers passed by.
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Two hundred metres away is St Patrick’s National School, where children have returned to school after the summer break.
Local Labour councillor Corina Johnston said Donabate has one of the youngest and most diverse populations in the country, with almost a third of residents under the age of 19.
“It’s been traumatic for the whole community. The area is close to a couple of national schools. There are children walking and cycling to school past the site and they are asking questions about the huge Garda presence,” she said.
[ Conflicting witness statements emerge concerning missing boy, presumed deadOpens in new window ]
“I have had parents on to me wondering if there are supports available for children and for parents themselves.”
One local woman, who did not want to be named, said she could not understand how the child was missing for so long without people noticing.
“I have three children going on in and out... the door bell constantly ringing for them. If they were missing for one day, everyone would know about it,” she said.
Donabate residents generally were shocked by the news. On Tuesday night, many gathered on Donabate Green in tribute to the boy.
About 100 people laid flowers and lit candles in a show of solidarity with the community.
A notice on the village Facebook page spoke of “enormous community concern”, and urged local people to come out to “show our care so it might be seen, felt and heard wherever it’s needed in our village and in communities across the country”.
Cllr Johnston said this was a “coming together” of the whole community. “Everybody’s thoughts are with this small child. We had teenage boys of 14 to 16 who came out last night in solidarity. It is a very tight-knit community.”
[ Boy missing, presumed dead, spent time in care before being returned to familyOpens in new window ]
The last-known address of the missing boy is at an apartment complex in Donabate.
“It was shocking to find out yesterday,” said one resident. “We moved here during the Covid times. It’s very peaceful here.”
