‘We won't rest until we get answers’

Wednesday of this week was a poignant date for the Tuohey family as it marked exactly 20 years since the disappearance of Shane Tuohey, whose 23-year-old body was discovered in the River Brosna by his brother Edwin a week later.

Shane's relatives gathered for a Mass and a remembrance event which took place at the family home in Derrycooley, Rahan, on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking to the Offaly Independent ahead of the anniversary, his father Eamon said the gathering this week was "a day for Shane" but it wasn't a celebration, "because we don't have anything to celebrate."

While Gardai concluded at the time that Shane had taken his own life, Eamon and the family believe he was assaulted on the night of his disappearance and have long been campaigning for a full new investigation into his death.

"We're not anti-Gardai in any way, we're just looking to get answers. That's all we want," said Eamon.“But if we don't get the answers, we will be continuing with this."

Three weeks ago, on January 11 last, the family held what Eamon described as "a very successful meeting" with the Justice Minister, Helen McEntee. They reiterated to the Minister their call for a full new investigation into the case.

"When we showed the material that we had, I do believe (Minister McEntee) was taken aback by it. Nobody realised the amount of information we had gathered," said Eamon.

He also said plans were being made to bring Shane's case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and this could potentially happen as soon as next month.

An independent, non-statutory inquiry into "the conduct and adequacy" of Garda investigations into Shane Tuohey's death was established in 2017 and was led by Judge Donagh McDonagh.

This ongoing process (known as a Section 42 Inquiry) has been affected by several delays, and late last year it emerged that Judge McDonagh had stepped down from his role due to personal reasons unrelated to the inquiry.

Eamon Tuohey met with Judge McDonagh for two days but he pointed out that the focus of the inquiry was solely on the Garda handling of the case and not on the circumstances of Shane's death. "The Section 42 Inquiry is nothing to do with what happened Shane Tuohey," he said.

When contacted by the Offaly Independent, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said Minister McEntee was "conscious of the distress caused to the Tuohey family as they await the conclusion of the Inquiry relating to the investigations into the death of Shane."

The Department confirmed that Judge McDonagh had been unable to continue with the work of the Inquiry due to personal reasons and it said that on January 11 Minister McEntee had appointed retired District Court Judge Michael Coghlan to continue the work of the Inquiry.

"The Minister now awaits the final report in accordance with its terms of reference. While the Inquiry remains independent of the Minister, the Minister has assured Judge Coghlan that every possible resource will be made available in order that the work of the Inquiry can be concluded in a timely and efficient manner," said the spokesperson.

"On January 11, the Minister met with the Tuohey family. The meeting offered the opportunity for the Minister to listen to the family of Shane Tuohey, to express regret at the length of time the Section 42 Inquiry has taken to date and to affirm the Minister’s commitment to the completion of the Inquiry under the new judge as soon as possible."

Eamon estimated that more than €1 million of taxpayers' money had been spent in relation to his son's case over the last two decades, but the family still hadn't been given the new investigation to which they believe they are entitled.

"To solve our case, the Department of Justice only have to come to our home, or for us to go to their office, and we'll sit down and show them our documentation. That's all we're asking for. We just want them to sit down and look at our paperwork."

He said there was always a lot of sadness in the family home around occasions such as Shane's birthday, Christmas, and the anniversary of his death.

"We will never get back to fully normal, to the way we were before Shane's death. If it was a road accident or something natural then you would have to accept it. But the problem we have with this is that we have so much evidence that points the opposite way.

"Shane never gave anyone an ounce of trouble in our house or outside our house. And yet, when this happened, we were treated so poorly.

"So much money is spent on criminals around the country and a genuine, decent family is left like this. It's appalling," he said.