Gardaí may travel to South America to quiz Irish-born father of little boy missing for 4 years as dig continues in Donabate
A source confirmed the man, who is from the west of Ireland and who is understood to be living with his new wife in a city in southern Brazil, has spoken remotely to gardaí.
The source said officers have not yet been despatched to Brazil to speak with him in person but said this would be actioned if necessary.
He declined to say whether the man has been asked by officers to voluntarily return to Ireland to assist in the probe.
“Officers are in contact with him and he is co-operating,” the source said.
The child’s mother, whose family moved here from Africa when she was an infant and whose attempt to draw a social welfare payment for the child led gardaí to her door on Friday of last week, is also described as ‘co-operating’ with officers.
Gardaí are scouring a field 4km from the apartment building in Donabate where the parents lived
She has claimed the boy, who would have been three years old at the time of his death in 2021, passed away in his sleep.
According to this narrative, the parents, who were both in their early 20s – made frantic efforts to revive the child when they discovered him dead in his bed.
When they were unable to do so, it’s claimed they panicked and instead of alerting authorities buried him in secret in a field four kilometres from their apartment building.
“This is not a murder investigation and it is not a homicide investigation,” the source stressed to the Sunday World.
“It is an investigation to locate the remains of a little boy.
“This may be the case that we are dealing with an instance involving two very vulnerable people acting in a panic after the death of a young child.
“It’s known from the family’s interactions with Tusla that they had considered giving the boy up for adoption before deciding against this.
Kyran Durnin has not been seen for years
“That indicates that they were possibly struggling to cope before this ever happened.”
The source continued that the crucial next step for an Garda Síochána is to locate the child’s remains in order that a post-mortem can determine cause of death.
The outcome of the post-mortem will determine whether the probe is upgraded and what charges will later arise.
Gardaí initially called to the woman’s apartment in Donabate on Friday of last week after a social welfare officer raised an alert with Tusla regarding the child’s welfare.
The mother had visited a social welfare office seeking an allowance for the boy but she was unable to supply supporting documentation to show he was attending school or any evidence of ongoing interaction in society.
Tusla then notified Gardaí who, when they spoke with the woman, were told the boy was dead.
Her apartment was sealed off and a forensic examination ordered which took place over the weekend. No evidence of foul play was discovered during the examination.
Gardaí are scouring a field 4km from the apartment building in Donabate where the parents lived
A neighbour, who has been living in the complex for the past 14 years, told the Sunday World that gardaí arrived in force in the complex on Friday afternoon.
“There was confusion at first,” he said. “People thought it was a drug raid or something like that.
“There were two or three squad cars and, over the weekend, two big vans and we saw forensics officers going in an out with big evidence bags. It was until earlier this week that people found out what was really going on.
“It’s a big shock. It’s very sad to think a child can die and it can be kept a secret for so long.”
Since the search last week, gardaí have maintained a discreet presence in the estate.
The burial site identified by the woman, in a sprawling site to one side of the Portrane road, four minutes’ drive from the couple’s apartment building, has been the subject of a massive Garda activity over the past five days.
A fingertip search has been carried out by specialist gardaí – and a cadaver dog was brought in to examine specific areas on Tuesday and Friday of this week.
More than 30 officers were present at the site on Friday clearing overgrowth.
Sources said an excavator may be brought in over the weekend to help move further overgrowth and layers of soil as the search progresses.
Gardaí take evidence bags from the scene of the search
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Asked about the numbers being assigned to the probe, the source said: “There is a significant number of officers operating on the ground but there are probably as many again working this case off-site.
“It is currently the biggest investigation ongoing in the State.”
As the investigation continues, Tusla the Child and Family Agency has come in for sustained criticism.
In a statement on Thursday, Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon said: “It is shocking that we are dealing with a situation where a child, who at one point was known to Tusla, could have disappeared four years’ ago and is now presumed dead.
“How could that have happened? How could a child have been born, dealt with all the relevant agencies and services, and then apparently, just disappear?”
Dr Muldoon said the National Review Panel – a body to which the State’s handling of the child’s case has been referred – has no statutory power nor independent authority to publish reports.
He added: “It is not good enough that Tusla’s answer to a serious incident like the disappearance and possible death of a child is a referral to a review process that reports back into the Board of Management of Tusla.”
Tusla CEO Kate Duggan described the case of the missing boy in Donabate as “really awful and harrowing”.
She said there had been “misinformation” surrounding the case and added that she wanted to be as transparent as possible.
Ms Duggan said: “This boy was known to us, and his family had made contact with us, and we provided them with care and support from the period 2017 to 2020, and that was primarily intensive and direct parenting supports.”
Gardaí searching for missing boy in Donabate
News in 90 seconds – 7th September 2025
She added: “The reports that I’ve received from that service is that there were not child protection concerns in relation to this family, and that our intervention and our engagement with this family certainly centred around support.”
The shocking news came just days after Gardaí issued an appeal for information about Kyran Durnin, a Co Louth boy who was also missing for several years before authorities became aware.
Kyran, who would now be nine-years-old, was first reported missing in August 2024, but when gardaí began to investigate they discovered that the schoolboy had not been seen alive since June 2022.