New Details Emerge as Gardaí and Tusla Probe Disappearance of Kyran Durnin
Ardee News and Sport – New Details Emerge as Gardaí and Tusla Probe Disappearance of Kyran Durnin; Timeline of Boy’s Last Known Sightings Under Scrutiny
Gardaí and Tusla are working with New Details to unravel the timeline surrounding the disappearance and presumed murder of six-year-old Kyran Durnin, who was last recorded as attending school in Dundalk, Co. Louth, in June 2022. Recent revelations indicate a critical six-week period in late May and June 2022, during which Kyran’s mother, Dayla Durnin, informed school staff he was in the hospital with Covid-19. Gardaí have since found no hospital records supporting this claim, adding further confusion as they trace Kyran’s whereabouts before his disappearance.
Following Kyran’s absence from school in May 2022, Dayla reported he would not be returning for the new term, citing an upcoming family move to Northern Ireland. His last official presence on record ends with the school term in June 2022. Investigators continue to search for witnesses who can confirm seeing Kyran during his last weeks in school, yet no one has yet been able to do so definitively.
Tusla, Ireland’s Child and Family Agency, confirmed that it had no record of referrals for Kyran between 2022 and 2024. Tusla’s chief executive, Kate Duggan, explained that without such a referral, there was no mandate to investigate Kyran’s attendance or welfare during that period. Tusla reported engagement with the Durnin family in 2022 through one of its family resource services, yet concerns regarding Kyran did not come to light until earlier this year when new information surfaced during an unrelated case review. This prompted Tusla to contact Gardaí, alerting them to Kyran’s potential absence from regular supervision.
As Gardaí and Tusla coordinated further reviews, they uncovered additional discrepancies during two face-to-face meetings in July and August 2024. The boy who accompanied Dayla Durnin to these meetings was later identified as not being Kyran, a fact that led Tusla to alert Gardaí and escalate the case.
Efforts to locate Kyran or his mother were ultimately traced to England, where Gardaí spoke to Dayla but failed to find any evidence of her son’s whereabouts. A thorough search of the former Durnin family home in Dundalk and the surrounding area in October yielded no physical evidence to assist in confirming Kyran’s fate.
Tusla recently submitted two comprehensive reports to government officials: one on its engagement with Kyran and his family, directed to Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman, and a second on the agency’s Educational Support Services’ communication with Kyran’s school, delivered to Education Minister Norma Foley. Due to the ongoing investigation, the details of these reports remain confidential.
Meanwhile, Gardaí are reviewing public tip-offs, social media activity, and phone records linked to people of interest in the case. Gardaí have urged anyone with potentially relevant information to contact the investigation team.
“No piece of information is too small,” said a Garda spokesperson, “We urge anyone who may have seen or heard anything to reach out in confidence. Even the smallest details could aid in our investigation.”