THE SKULL OF a man dubbed the ‘Lambay man’, whose skull was first discovered off the coast of Lambay Island in north county Dublin in 2006, has been missing for a number of years.
True crime author and journalist Barry Cummins reported today that the skull was last accounted for between 2007 and 2008.
The skull was discovered on 6 February 2006 by a fisherman after it was brought up by fishing nets trawling the seabed. It was in two parts, which were recovered from the same area of water, which suggested it had been removed from the man’s body.
Gardaí searched the area but did not locate the man’s body.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with David McCullagh, Cummins said foul play was not suspected, and it was likely a tragic case in which a man somehow entered the water from either a boat or the coast and was swept out to the area by Lambay Island.
Forensic analysis indicated that the man’s body had not been in the sea for very long – perhaps a matter of weeks or months, up to a year or two.
He is thought to have been aged between 25 and 45 at the time of his death.
Four of his teeth were sent to an expert in Vancouver, Canada, who obtained a DNA sample. The skull was sent to Scotland for analysis.
Prof Caroline Wilkinson, who specialises in facial reconstruction, assembled a clay model of what the Lambay man may have looked like in real life.
Despite extensive efforts, the Lambay man has yet to be identified.
Cummins said today that he first began to have suspicions that the skull may have been lost by the State in recent years. Gardaí recently confirmed to Cummins the skull was last in its custody in 2007.
The journalist said that upon its return from Scotland to Ireland, it was not brought back to Balbriggan garda station, which was actively investigating the case, but another station in the south-east of the country.
When investigating, gardaí later went to retrieve the skull, it could not be found.
In 2021, gardaí launched another public appeal to identify the man, although it neglected to say that it had misplaced the deceased’s skull.
The Journal has contacted An Garda Síochána for comment.