Mother of Philip Cairns sustained by her faith

A religious sister close to the mother of missing Dublin schoolboy Philip Cairns has described Philip’s mother as “a great woman of faith”.

Sr Marie Dunne CHF, who four years ago wrote a song to help raise funds for the parents of missing children, told The Irish Catholic that “Alice is a woman of prayer and deep faith and this has been and is her strength”.

The then-13-year old Philip disappeared in 1986 when on his way back to school after going home for lunch. He was last seen leaving his house on Ballyroan Road in Rathfarnham around 1.30pm on October 23. Six days later his schoolbag was discovered in a nearby laneway, apparently having been dumped there after Philip’s disappearance.

Searches

Despite extensive searches, numerous requests for information, and over 400 supposed sightings of Philip, all of which were investigated by Gardaí, no trace of Philip was found.

Philip’s family issued a renewed appeal for information about Philip’s disappearance in October 2006, when a Mass was held to mark the 20th anniversary, and further appeals was issued the following year and in 2011.

A woman now in her late 30s last month told Gardaí that when she was nine years old she witnessed convicted child abuser Eamon Cooke, onetime owner of the pirate station Radio Dublin, kill Philip at the station premises. Mr Cooke had made her dump Philip’s schoolbag in the laneway, she said. Mr Cooke had been convicted in 2007 on 42 counts of child sexual abuse.

Movements

Gardaí subsequently visited Mr Cooke at Raheny hospice and interviewed him before his June 4 death and now intend to interview former employees of the station and others known to Mr Cooke at the time in an attempt to establish his movements on the day of Philip’s disappearance.

Describing herself as “upset and shocked” at the latest revelations, Sr Marie said she was sorry that “for 30 years maybe this information was around before that person was able to share it”. 

A new arrangement of her song, A Candle for You, first performed in October 2012, has been released, all proceeds for which will go to the National Missing Persons’ Helpline.