Special Report: Complete national policy needed for cold cases
'His true identity has been washed away by the waves'
Lambay Island Skull - 2006
rbbm.
08/01/2007 /A photo of a reconstructed skull which was found on Lambay Island, Dublin. /Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins
Gardaí have over the past 14 years appealed for assistance in identifying a human skull that was recovered from the sea off Lambay Island on February 6, 2006.
The fishing vessel “Our Tracey” made the discovery. Exhaustive enquiries have been carried out to identify these remains, but to no avail, according to gardaí.
Facial reconstruction was carried out on the skull by Dr Caroline Wilkinson, a senior lecturer in Forensic Anthropology at Dundee University, Scotland, who specialised in this area.
Dr Wilkinson made a 3D manual facial reconstruction and she believes the facial reconstruction will be a true likeness as the detail on the skull was good for the reconstruction to take place.
Retired detective inspector Pat Marry was the garda who reached out to Dr Wilkinson.
He told the Irish Examiner: “It was 2006, and it was reported that a skull had been washed up in a fishing net of Lambay. I remember the trawler had a sat-nav system, and was able to show within 20 feet of where the skull was actually netted.
“I sent a sub-aqua team down there, who reported that they had never seen as many crabs in one place. Any flesh that would have been there would not have survived the crabs, unfortunately. Absolutely nothing else could be found, other than the skull.”
Mr Marry, now a private investigator and author after leaving the Gardaí in 2018, said in his book The Makings of a Detective that he arranged for a local undertaker to retrieve the skull, which was done with the utmost respect, as if it were a full human body.
“Then I decided to hit the desk and do some research, because somehow – without a crime scene, a location, a body or a single clue – I was going to have to establish the identity of this person and how he or she had met their demise.
“My research set me on the path of some experts who might be able to help with identification.
"I contacted Dr David Sweet at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, who was a highly respected forensic scientist. He had worked with governments in various countries to identify remains found in mass graves, using the bones or teeth as a source of DNA. I sent him a sample of the teeth for testing.
“In Ireland, I contacted the state anthropologist, Dr Laureen Buckley, and the state pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, who both examined the find. Dr Cassidy couldn’t derive much information from the remains, but Dr Buckley was able to furnish me with some details.
She concluded that the skull was that of a male Caucasian, between 25 and 45, and it had been in the water for around six to 12 months.
“I also contacted the state forensic dentist, Dr Paul Keogh, to ask him to conduct an examination in tandem with the work going on over in Canada.”
Mr Marry said that Dr Keogh told him that the skull had no fillings and that the teeth were healthy but slightly ground down, which suggested a foreign person, such as a North African, who was possibly partial to chewing nuts.
“From Dr Sweet, we eventually received a full DNA profile from the teeth supplied to him. This was something our forensics lab wasn’t equipped to do, but Dr Sweet was a world leader in his field and I was grateful for his input.
“The breakthrough came when I discovered the work of forensic anthropologist Dr Caroline Wilkinson, who was then based at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Her work comprised full facial reconstructions based on partial evidence, and it was fascinating.
"I contacted her and she agreed to work on helping to solve the mystery. After an examination of the skull, she confirmed that it was within a forensic timeframe and therefore a full reconstruction would be possible.”
A month later, he travelled to Dundee to see the results of Dr Wilkinson’s work
“It’s one of my regrets that I couldn’t identify this young man. To this day, the only name for this victim is ‘the Lambay man’; his true identity has been washed away by the waves''
'His true identity has been washed away by the waves'
Lambay Island Skull - 2006
rbbm.
08/01/2007 /A photo of a reconstructed skull which was found on Lambay Island, Dublin. /Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins
Gardaí have over the past 14 years appealed for assistance in identifying a human skull that was recovered from the sea off Lambay Island on February 6, 2006.
The fishing vessel “Our Tracey” made the discovery. Exhaustive enquiries have been carried out to identify these remains, but to no avail, according to gardaí.
Facial reconstruction was carried out on the skull by Dr Caroline Wilkinson, a senior lecturer in Forensic Anthropology at Dundee University, Scotland, who specialised in this area.
Dr Wilkinson made a 3D manual facial reconstruction and she believes the facial reconstruction will be a true likeness as the detail on the skull was good for the reconstruction to take place.
Retired detective inspector Pat Marry was the garda who reached out to Dr Wilkinson.
He told the Irish Examiner: “It was 2006, and it was reported that a skull had been washed up in a fishing net of Lambay. I remember the trawler had a sat-nav system, and was able to show within 20 feet of where the skull was actually netted.
“I sent a sub-aqua team down there, who reported that they had never seen as many crabs in one place. Any flesh that would have been there would not have survived the crabs, unfortunately. Absolutely nothing else could be found, other than the skull.”
Mr Marry, now a private investigator and author after leaving the Gardaí in 2018, said in his book The Makings of a Detective that he arranged for a local undertaker to retrieve the skull, which was done with the utmost respect, as if it were a full human body.
“Then I decided to hit the desk and do some research, because somehow – without a crime scene, a location, a body or a single clue – I was going to have to establish the identity of this person and how he or she had met their demise.
“My research set me on the path of some experts who might be able to help with identification.
"I contacted Dr David Sweet at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, who was a highly respected forensic scientist. He had worked with governments in various countries to identify remains found in mass graves, using the bones or teeth as a source of DNA. I sent him a sample of the teeth for testing.
“In Ireland, I contacted the state anthropologist, Dr Laureen Buckley, and the state pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, who both examined the find. Dr Cassidy couldn’t derive much information from the remains, but Dr Buckley was able to furnish me with some details.
She concluded that the skull was that of a male Caucasian, between 25 and 45, and it had been in the water for around six to 12 months.
“I also contacted the state forensic dentist, Dr Paul Keogh, to ask him to conduct an examination in tandem with the work going on over in Canada.”
Mr Marry said that Dr Keogh told him that the skull had no fillings and that the teeth were healthy but slightly ground down, which suggested a foreign person, such as a North African, who was possibly partial to chewing nuts.
“From Dr Sweet, we eventually received a full DNA profile from the teeth supplied to him. This was something our forensics lab wasn’t equipped to do, but Dr Sweet was a world leader in his field and I was grateful for his input.
“The breakthrough came when I discovered the work of forensic anthropologist Dr Caroline Wilkinson, who was then based at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Her work comprised full facial reconstructions based on partial evidence, and it was fascinating.
"I contacted her and she agreed to work on helping to solve the mystery. After an examination of the skull, she confirmed that it was within a forensic timeframe and therefore a full reconstruction would be possible.”
A month later, he travelled to Dundee to see the results of Dr Wilkinson’s work
“It’s one of my regrets that I couldn’t identify this young man. To this day, the only name for this victim is ‘the Lambay man’; his true identity has been washed away by the waves''
- Anyone with information as to the identification of the person whose skull was found off Lambay Island, call the Garda Missing Persons Bureau on 01 666 2615, Gardaí at Balbriggan on 01 8020510, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
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