A man whose skeletal remains were found in south Dublin earlier this year has been identified as Stephen Corrigan, who had been reported missing almost a decade ago.
When Mr Corrigan, who would be aged 57 years if he were alive, went missing his mother was his only known living blood relative and she gave a sample of her DNA in a bid to aid the search for him.
While she has since died, without ever knowing what happened to her son, the sample of DNA she gave to gardaí has resulted in the skeletal remains found in Rathmines, south Dublin, being confirmed as those of Mr Corrigan. Gardaí have now launched an appeal for any other relatives of the dead man to come forward.
The remains were found on the evening of Thursday, April 9th, on a site off the Lower Rathmines Road, on common ground at Lissenfield.
No effort appeared to have been made to bury the remains, on which no flesh or clothing remained and the bones were initially believed to date from within a 20-year period.
Tests that have since been carried out have confirmed that initial evaluation and gardaí believe Mr Corrigan died around the time he went missing in November, 2011.
Gardaí on Tuesday confirmed the remains were those of Mr Corrigan, who was residing in the Cork St area of Dublin 8 when the last known sighting of him was recorded, when he was aged 48 years.
At the time he went missing Mr Corrigan was a patient at The Weir Home on Cork St, a residence where nursing and psychiatric care is provided for men. Residents can come and go as they please and Mr Corrigan failed to return there on the day he went missing.
He suffered from mental health issues and had a tendency to withdraw from society and was known to live on the streets, often around St Anne's Park, Palmerston Park, Mulhuddart and Glasnevin.
He was reported missing at the time and his mother kept in touch with gardaí, with appeals for information on his whereabouts being broadcast on the RTÉ Crimecall programme in May 2012, January 2013, and May 2014.
“Stephen has been identified through DNA analysis compared with a familial DNA sample provided by his mother. Sadly, Stephen’s mother is now deceased, as is his only other known blood relative,” the Garda said in a statement on Tuesday night.
"An Garda Síochána continue to try and identify surviving members of Stephen's family and are appealing to any living relative of Stephen Corrigan or any member of the public who knew Stephen to contact gardaí."
Any member of the family or anyone who has information about family members is asked to contact Rathmines Garda station on (01) 666 6700 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
