Uncle of Mary Boyle dies, last person to report seeing six-year-old alive

The last person to see Mary Boyle alive – her uncle, Gerry Gallagher – died this week.

Six-year-old Mary went missing on March 18, 1977 near Cashelard, Ballyshannon.

She was visiting her grandparents' remote cottage in Cashelard with family, including her twin sister, Ann.

On the day she vanished, Mary was wearing trousers and a knitted cardigan and had her hair tied back with a ribbon.

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She followed her uncle Gerry, who had been working on a roof and was returning a ladder to a neighbouring farmer – a distance of around 400m.

As they traipsed across the bogland, it is said that Gerry told Mary to turn back as a pool of water was too deep for the little girl to cross.

It was the last time she was seen alive.

Mary's grandparents house in Ballyshannon

Ann Boyle, Mary's mother, was in the kitchen of her parents' house when she discovered that her daughter Mary was missing.

Gardai, family and neighbours scoured a 450-yard stretch of land between the only two houses in the area, in a search that escalated over the following weeks into a trawl of bog holes, lakes, streams and the countryside beyond.

An entire lake was drained,but no sign or trace has ever been found.

A fresh investigation into Mary's disappearance was launched in 2016. In the same year, in a documentary, two former Gardai - retired sergeant Martin Collins and retired detective inspector Aidan Murray – alleged that political interference affected their investigation.

Collins said: “A phonecall was made to Ballyshannon station, it was a politician. The gist of the conversation was that none of a particular family should be made a suspect for Mary’s disappearance.”

Murray said: “At that point I got a little nudge from the inspector at the time to ease off a wee bit. I was reluctant to ease off but I did because it was more or less an instruction.”

Her disappearance is the longest missing child case in the Republic of Ireland.

It is believed that Gerry Gallagher died on Wednesday following an illness.