GARDAÍ HAVE begun a murder inquiry following the discovery last month of a human arm on a north Dublin beach.
Detectives investigating the find on Dollymount Strand on February 8th have established that the limb, which was severed at the shoulder and the wrist, belonged to a convicted rapist.
DNA analysis, conducted with the co-operation of Interpol, confirmed the arm belonged to James Nolan (46), Fairlawn Road, Finglas, Dublin.
Nolan’s DNA had been kept on a database in the UK following an arrest in the jurisdiction in 2008.
Draft legislation to provide for the establishment of a DNA database in the State was now at an advanced stage of preparation, Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said yesterday.
Nolan, who had convictions for rape and burglary in the Republic, had been missing since he was released from Portlaoise Prison last November.
While no other part of Nolan’s body has been found, gardaí believe he was abducted and murdered before his remains were dumped in the sea.
They also believe the fact the hand from the severed arm was cut off may have been an attempt to thwart gardaí identifying the victim using fingerprint technology.
Nolan took part in the abduction and gang rape of a 22-year-old woman in north Dublin in 1984. He was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison in 1986.
He was released in 1996 after serving most of his sentence at Arbour Hill Prison.
Nolan was sentenced to 18 months in jail in October 2009 for a burglary in Booterstown, Co Dublin, in 2005. Gardaí are trying to trace his final movements following his release from prison and the discovery of his severed limb.
Nolan’s brother, Robert Nolan, who was convicted and jailed for the same crime as his brother in 1986, said yesterday he believed his brother had been murdered.
He appealed to anyone with information about the disappearance to come forward and assist gardaí with their investigation.
In an interview on RTÉ's Livelineprogramme in 2009, Robert Nolan criticised the lack of rehabilitation for sex offenders in the Irish Prison Service. Speaking at a conference on security technology in Dublin yesterday, Mr Callinan said a considerable amount of work was being done to provide a DNA database in Ireland.
Draft legislation to provide a database was published by former minister for justice Dermot Ahern in January 2010, but did not progress and lapsed at the dissolution of government.
The new Bill, promised as part of the current programme for government, will include some of the old Bill with “necessary amendments”, according to the Department of Justice, and will be published later this year.
Mr Callinan, who declined to comment on the Nolan case, said the new Bill was at an advanced stage of preparation.
Launching a security exhibition and conference yesterday, which featured new technology used by the security industry, Mr Callinan said that he regarded the industry as a “major and key stakeholder” with An Garda Síochána.