Fresh appeal over murder of Angie Smith after 1987 Slane concert

Body of 27-year-old mother of two found in ditch in Dublin mountains

Antoinette ‘Angie’ Smith had been attending a David Bowie concert in Slane
Antoinette ‘Angie’ Smith had been attending a David Bowie concert in Slane

Gardaí believe the silence of a number of people for more than 30 years has shielded whoever killed Dubliner Angie Smith after a concert in Slane in 1987.

On the anniversary of her disappearance, gardaí will tomorrow appeal to people who may have information that could solve the case and bring the killer or killers to justice.

The case has undergone a cold-case review but detectives still need more information.

They are hopeful that people who stayed silent since the death, perhaps out of loyalty to whoever carried out the murder, may not now be bound by those same loyalties.

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Antoinette "Angie" Smith (27), had been attending David Bowie at Slane Castle on July 11th, 1987 when she was last seen alive.

The mother of two young children, Lisa and Rachel, then aged seven and four, left the La Mirage nightclub in Parnell Street in the capital at around 2.15am on the night she disappeared.

Nothing was heard of her for nine months, until her body was found. Her remains were discovered on April 3rd, 1988, in a drain by a turf-cutters' road on Glendoo Mountain, near the Lemass monument outside Enniskerry in Co Wicklow.

Her body was decomposed and gardaí believe she was killed at the time of her disappearance.

The 27-year-old’s body was found in a ditch in the Dublin mountains almost a year after her disappearance. Photograph: An Garda Síochána
The 27-year-old’s body was found in a ditch in the Dublin mountains almost a year after her disappearance. Photograph: An Garda Síochána

A taxi driver came forward some years ago and told gardaí he believes he brought Ms Smith and two men, from Westmoreland Street in Dublin city centre about 45 minutes after she left the club.

The driver said the two men were in their 20s and all three were discussing going to a party in Rathfarnham. He told gardaí he dropped the three passengers near the Yellow House pub in Rathfarnham, at the foot of the Dublin Mountains.

Gardaí investigating the murder case are not sure that the woman with the two men was Ms Smith. They have asked anyone who believes they were one of the three passengers to come forward.

One of the men, who would now be in their 40s, was tall with dark hair and spoke with a soft Dublin accent. The other had collar-length hair and was also from Dublin.

Ms Smith, from Kilmahuddrick Court, Clondalkin, west Dublin, was wearing a David Bowie T-shirt, dark blue denim jeans, a denim jacket and navy-blue high heels at the time of her murder.

The dead woman also had a Texaco holdall bag, which was black with red straps, containing some personal effects, including clothes and make-up, but was never found.

Gardaí have also received reports of two young men seen coming down from the Dublin mountains, at Cruagh Woods at 5.50am on July 12th, and they want information on those men, or for the men to come forward.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times