Was it a man or a woman that murdered Raonaid Murray?

As far as I know the knife discovered on the roof of a rundown property yielded no clues/evidence. Too long up there, apparently ten years.

The cops were overwhelmed with info and struggled to get a grip on it. Throw in two competing officers who managed to unwittingly destabilise the investigation and it’s no wonder it hasn’t been solved.

Try reading everything online and you’ll come to the same conclusion- going around in circles. Even now I’m beginning to doubt the female/male suspect theories because nothing sticks. That theory might well prove to be the perfect foil that has enabled the real killer to elude authorities.

The guy in the takeaway and nightclub with Raonaid and described by her friends to the cops, but no name. He never came forward. Were they all so pissed that no more info could come out of those two encounters? So, who is that person? And remember, Raonaid was followed on another night and sought refuge in a friends apartment.

One thing I’m pretty sure of - if you’re going to commit murder in “the cut” laneway- the most logical escape route is down the opposite lane at - Lords way- (part of the metals route) and across the rail line bridge exiting to a quiet neighbourhood.

Hear me out - so this suspect, who never came forward, danced with Raonaid in july of that summer in the nightclub, and had something to eat with her, has NEVER been properly identified by her friends. His friends were also there. This article…

The first sighting is the most detailed as it was supplied by friends of Raonaid who spent considerable time in his company. The young man met Raonaid Murray on Thursday, July 29, 1999, at the Paparazzi Nightclub on Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire. He was in the company of a group of male friends. He danced with Raonaid, later joining her and her friends at Abrakebabra on Georges St, Dun Laoghaire.

The young man sat and chatted with Raonaid and her friends for a lengthy period. He is described as between 5'8'' to 5'10'' tall, with short, light sandy hair and he is aged between 18 and 22. He is of average build with piercing sky-blue eyes. He had a sallow complexion and clear skin. He spoke with a ``polished'' middle-class accent and wore a loop earring at the top of his left ear.

He wore thin-rimmed glasses on the top of his head, but only used them to look at the menu. He was dressed in a pair of trendy cream combat trousers and a cream T-shirt. Raonaid's friends were not formally introduced, but they felt he was a student. During their conversation, he displayed a keen interest in music and spoke in detail about guitars, singling out a Fender sunburst guitar for particular mention.

During his stay in the restaurant, some of his friends were outside. He then left with Raonaid. Her friends believed that he lived locally. So far, gardaí have been unable to identify this man or his friends.

The next sighting was of a young man of similar build and height, wearing light coloured combat trousers and a beige or brown round-necked jumper or sweat shirt. He had sandy, tossed, unkempt hair and was with Raonaid at the junction of Corrig Avenue and Corrig Rd at 11.53pm on September 4. The witness had the distinct impression that the young man was hassling the girl. The man seemed agitated and the girl seemed to be trying to get rid of him.

At 12.02am Raonaid was seen crossing Lower Glenageary Rd at the traffic lights at the junction with Corrig Rd. She was alone. Eight minutes later, she was brutally attacked with a kitchen knife and left to die in the Gaps, a walkway between Silchester Rd and Silchester Crescent.

Superintendent Martin Donnellan told the Sunday Independent that investigators needed to urgently identify the man at the Paparazzi Nightclub.

im amazed none of this helped… clearly the guy is recognisable to someone….

Who is this ?

Likes guitars

He was found. Public were never informed. John Mooney wrote an article about it in the Times - 27th August - this year.

In light of John Mooneys article, the focus falls back on female suspect seen in the area by a reliable witness, walking towards Adelaide road after the murder. The theory is female suspect delayed Raonaid on walk to Silchester road from pub (explains time gap) at some point Raonaid cuts off conversation with volatile female and continues on alone, suspect follows her to “the cut” laneway, Raonaid being so close to home felt emboldened to turn and tell her tormentor to **** off and to get away from her while thinking she was safe, attacked halfway up laneway (pool of blood was there) suspect pulls knife, lands early fatal blow to artery under armpit, there’s one scream after that, attacker continues to stab, In shock and blood loss Raonaid makes to to laneway exit, collapses. Did murderer check to see if Raonaid done for? Probably. Would they have the intelligence to determine Raonaid was dying? Probably not. Then suspect leaves, spotted heading towards Adelaide road. Other people in area, probably male suspect friend, he took knife to dispose of it down by Metals, explains blood on him, female went other direction. Plan to meet back at her place on churchview road. Her killer got very lucky. We are in the process of making a doc for the 25th anniversary.

She knew her 100% and a small number of people know what happened. Three people involved, one killer, two accomplices. And to make the alibis stick - possibly three more people. 6 or 7 people including family members protecting their own with false alibis.

“Male” suspect ^^

Intelligent comments from you…thanks!! Justice will be done. She was only 17. There will be justice for Mark Burke also.

One important thing …the guards were monitoring online comments at some stage after the murder in the hope of identifying the killer. I’m not sure when or the year, but one thing is certain, the people involved continue to observe comments, especially around the anniversary and weeks after. This makes me happy. I want them to know they will face justice. Big plans in place to nail them.

And just to add. The volume of statements taken, the number of suspects questioned, the futile photofits released, even the fact there were a lot of weird individuals with questionable fetishes (not entirely uncommon in life, right) who were looked at; not to mention the media obsession with “chefs with knifes”, led me to conclude the investigation got too big, too drawn out, and too unfocused for its own good. The closer they thought they were to cracking it, the further away they were from the truth. The people involved are not master criminals, they got LUCKY. They had time to reset, reflect, consult, construct alibis, had support, possibly issued threats, and had ample time to dispose of evidence, and to get “offside”. I’m sure the authorities are waiting on an alibi to collapse and for an individual to come forward. Let’s see what happens…

*Psychiatric care

Spamming? It’s valid information, you clown.