Infant was stabbed 40 times, court hears

An inquest into the death of an unidentified infant found stabbed to death in a laneway 34 years ago has heard that the newborn…

An inquest into the death of an unidentified infant found stabbed to death in a laneway 34 years ago has heard that the newborn was stabbed more than 40 times in the neck, chest and face, and some of the wounds were inflicted after death.

The inquest into the death was reopened in September 2005 after legal representations were made on behalf of Cynthia Owen, the woman who came forward 12 years ago claiming to be the mother of the infant, called Noleen.

A postmortem report from former State pathologist Prof Maurice Hickey found the infant died from blood haemorrhage as a result of stab wounds to the neck. He found that the infant had been stabbed to death very soon after birth.

Prof Hickey's report continued that "the stab process continued after death", Dublin County Coroner's Court heard yesterday.

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Uinsionn Mac Dubhghaill, then aged 11, discovered the deceased infant covered in blood in a green plastic bag in 1973 and described yesterday how the event traumatised him for many years afterwards.

"I was very distressed. I didn't go near the lane for a long time. My mother had to give me sleeping pills. It was like a big secret I carried around for years," he told the court yesterday.

Mr Mac Dubhghaill gave evidence at the initial inquest in 1973 and said he was "afraid they were going to put me in prison because I did something wrong". As a reporter for The Irish Times many years later, he wrote about discovering the infant's remains.

A statement by Sgt Jacob Lawlor, now deceased, stated that newspapers soaked in blood and part of a sheet were discovered in the plastic bag that also contained the dead infant. His statement said that despite extensive inquiries in 1973 "the identity of the mother was not established".

Retired Garda inspector Edward Russell told the inquest he was not the author of a 1973 statement attributed to him that said he saw the dead infant in a Lee's Lane car park before its remains were taken to the mortuary. The statement, attributed to Mr Russell who was then a Garda sergeant, said he saw the murdered infant and its afterbirth in a green plastic bag and went in search of the two boys who discovered the remains.

"I did not see the dead infant in the lane. I never made that statement . . . I'd like to know who did," the retired inspector said.

Michael Forde, senior counsel for Ms Owen, said this was an example of why his client criticised the Garda investigation into the infant's death.

Ms Owen said she gave birth to a second infant three years after the birth of Noleen. The inquest continues today.