Kilkenny mother of high profile missing schoolboy Philip Cairns has died

Alice Cairns (née Brennan), formerly of Lisnafunchin, Castlecomer, County Kilkenny, has passed away suddenly, but peacefully, surrounded by her family.

The Kilkenny native raised a loving family together with her late husband Philip Cairns in Ballyroan, Dublin.

The family's life was turned upside down on October 23, 1986 when their son Philip (13) disappeared while walking back to school in South Dublin from his home in Ballyroan.

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His disappearance remains one of the most high-profile disappearances in recent Irish history, but no trace of Cairns has ever been found.

Alice is predeceased by her husband, Philip Snr, who passed away in 2014.

Cherished mam to Mary, Sandra, Helen, Suzanne, Philip and Eoin, loving grandmother to Ciara, Liam, Rory, Theo, Edith and Adah.

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Alice will be deeply missed and remembered always by her heartbroken family, her sisters Ellen, Catherine and Liz, her brothers Joe, Billy and Johnny, her sons-in-law Arne and Gary, her daughter-in-law Loretta, her sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and a wide circle of friends.

Anybody wishing to donate, if desired, are asked to donate to a charity very close to Alice's heart, The National Missing Persons Helpline.

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