A search is under way at a house in west Dublin after a woman alleged two children she gave birth to were murdered and buried.
Gardaí in Crumlin are leading the investigation, which involves a dig in the house's back garden, after the woman came forward last year to say she was the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of men she knew as a child.
The property where the search is taking place is a well-maintained, two-storey, terraced house in a quiet residential enclave. There was continuous Garda activity around the house on Friday and at one point workmen arrived and entered the property with what appeared to be the steel frame for a marquee.
One neighbour said the area is usually very quiet and that she heard about the case on the news in the morning. She added that she thought there had been an accident initially when she saw all the Garda cars arriving. “It’s unbelievable,” she said.
The woman who made the allegations said she was raped and abused over a period of about 10 years.
In the 1970s, when aged 12, she said she first gave birth to a baby conceived during the abuse. She told gardaí that in order to cover up the abuse, the child was murdered and buried in the back garden of the house.
She also claims she fell pregnant again two years later, when aged 14, and that the second child was also killed and buried in the same garden.
It is understood at least one of two men she has implicated in the abuse has since died, though one elderly person she has implicated is still alive and living in Ireland.
Gardaí said they anticipate the search will last two to three weeks. The result will determine the future direction of the investigation.
