Anatomy of an Injustice - The Killing of Fr Niall Molloy

The upstairs room of Hodges Figgis book store on Dublin’s Dawson Street was crammed on Thursday evening for the launch of a new book on Fr Niall Molloy. Anatomy of an Injustice – The Killing of Father Niall Molloy by Maresa Fagan, a journalist, and Sharon Lawless of Flawless Films was officially launched by former RTE correspondent Tom McCaughren who covered the Inquest for RTE almost 40 years ago.

In July 1985, the discovery of Fr Molloy’s badly beaten body in the bedroom of his close friends and business associates, Richard and Therese Flynn, was the stuff of soap operas. The gentle-natured cleric came to a violent and bloody end during a weekend of wedding celebrations at the Flynn home, Kilcoursey House.

The new book builds on fresh revelations unveiled in a recent two-part TV documentary for RTE, ‘The Killing of Fr Niall Molloy,’ which won the ‘best factual series’ prize at the RTS Ireland Television Awards earlier this year.

Speaking at the launch of the book Tom McCaughren recalled covering the case for RTE and said, ''As you know, the killing of Fr Molloy has been one of the most intriguing and puzzling cases that was encountered in this country in something like forty years. Unlike the cases of the young women who disappeared in the Leinster area and who unfortunately are believed to have been murdered, in this case – the case of Fr Molloy – we had a crime scene, we had a body and we even had a man who stood up and said, 'I’m the culprit, I did it.'

''In spite of the efforts of the Gardai at the time – and it was a woefully inadequate investigation as pointed out in the book; in spite of the fact that Richard Flynn was charged with manslaughter; in spite of an Inquest which found that the victim, Fr Molloy, had died from series head injuries, not heart attack; in spite of the cold case review by the guards; in spite of the Independent Review of that review; in spite of the untiring efforts of the Molloy family and the Maher family and in spite of the efforts of the media, we still haven’t found the answers to the questions that have to be answered. It’s unbelievable how a veil has been drawn over everything and nobody knows anything.

In fact on the basis of the information that the authors have unearthed during their great period of research there are even more questions to be answered now than there were to be answered then. Who really killed Fr Molloy? And where was he really killed? These are very serious questions because of the evidence that has been uncovered. And why was he really killed? How was he really killed? There are many questioned raised in this book.

''The authors highlight the recent attempts to try and get a Commission of Investigation into the case, even at this late stage. Even though the principal characters are gone there are still many witnesses who were never interviewed and under a Commission of Investigation witnesses are required to give evidence under oath. The Molloy family have been trying to get that but have been denied it, but knowing the Molloy family I am quite sure they won’t take no for an answer and I hope they get it.''

Maresa Fagan said the book had been a long time coming. She referred to the fresh review of the case by the Gardai in 2010, the McGinn Report in 2015 and more recently to Sharon Lawless’s two-part documentary which Maresa also worked on. ''It was after the documentary that we felt there was a lot more to be said on Fr Molloy’s killing and the mystery that surrounded it, so it was with that in mind that we decided to write the book.''

Following on from the success of her critically acclaimed two-part documentary, co-author Sharon Lawless said that hopefully something will happen in the near future and there will be a demand for a Commission of Investigation. ''It’s the only thing that will force witnesses to come forwarded and speak under oath; it’s the only thing that will force retired Gardai who were in charge of the forensic evidence that disappeared to come forward and account for it; it’s the only thing that will get justice at this stage for Fr Niall,'' she added.