Me: wonder if you care to comment on whether or not the split between Mary's twin and their mother is due to any suggestion/denial that the killer is in some way related to the family,
From Justice4MaryBoyle >>"...yes that's why there is a split..."
Me: "...secondly, if I may, was anyone in the family in politics..."
Justice4MaryBoyle>>>"...the Gallagher family were known to be big supporters of the political party "Fianna Fail"...<< and
>>>"The politician who is believed to have called the gardai (police) and told them to lay off the main suspect is a Local Fianna Fail councillor & is still in office presently.<<<
Thank you for answering the questions. I think I have another one. As you know, the names of two politicians have surfaced, and both have publicly claimed they are NOT the politician in question, which was to be expected I imagine.
But if we were to assume, purely for the sake of discussion, that both are telling the truth, then one wonders 1) could a call have come from higher up but still perhaps within County Donegal and 2) could the call have come from an influential religious personage or that entity's representative.
Obviously, as we seem to know nothing for certain, by way of evidence, then anything is possible. But historically, in Ireland, at that time, the MOST powerful entity, politically, culturally, etc. was the Catholic Church.
Do you know if any part of the investigation at that time looked into the whereabouts of nearby parish priests? Let's say, the two closest parishes serving the farm? I do not know if you would have that information, but there must be records of who the pastor(s) was (were). I think the "close relative" is a natural area for thorough investigation....but I keep coming back to another perspective that seems both sides of the family agree on: that "Mary knew her abductor," and I can't help but wonder how thoroughly non-family members were investigated--non family members that any Irish six-year old at that time would trust...implicitly. Mary liked to go off on her own, it seems, was restless, curious. Perhaps she began a walk into town...
I think as you have been lurking here for some time, as you mentioned, then you know the standard operating procedure is to look at the evidence. I've seen Gemma's well-done documentary...and to me, the most powerful element of the film is the allegation by the filmmaker and Mary's twin sister, and others, that the investigation--the investigation then AND now--that might produce some hard evidence was and IS BEING stymied by law enforcement.
But maybe it's being stymied by something even more powerful, at that time (and perhaps still), than the Gardai, i.e., the Church. I have family in Kerry. I know the issues in Donegal, at that time, were somewhat inseparable from The Troubles and all the political ramifications and lawlessness and brute force of those times...but all that seems to be more of a diversion in this case. I can't help but wonder what institution, then and now, has even more incentive to maintain a coverup than even a corrupt Gardai that may have (simply...but it's never simple) been the accessory to the coverup relating to the disappearance of Mary Boyle.
Just the distance of time, an Irish and Catholic heritage and a tendency to think in terms of "Who has the most to gain or lose?" brings me to this pondering. They say, 'follow the money" but in this case, I can't help but wonder if everyone should be following, perhaps, the guy who leads the Stations of the Cross...not that there wasn't money involved. I rather suspect there was a good deal of it to secure silence.