Ireland

Trevor Deely’s father dies without knowing what happened to his missing son

Michael Deely spent more than 20 years searching for his son after his disappearance following a work party in December 2000

Michael Deely, whose son Trevor went missing in December 2000, has died. Photograph: Eric Luke
Michael Deely, whose son Trevor went missing in December 2000, has died. Photograph: Eric Luke
Olivia Kelleher
Fri Aug 02 2024 - 15:57

A man who spent more than 20 years searching for his missing son Trevor Deely has died without finding out what happened to him.

Michael Deely, with an address in Naas, Co Kildare, and formerly of Loughrea, Co Galway, died on Thursday surrounded by his “loving family” at the TLC Centre in Maynooth, according to a death notice. He is survived by his wife Ann and their children Mark, Michele, Pamela and Trevor, who the notice describes as “still missing”.

Trevor attended a work Christmas party at the Hilton Hotel in Dublin on December 7th, 2000. He then went to Buck Whaley’s nightclub on Leeson Street, which he left between 2.30am and 3.25am on December 8th.

At 3.35am, he called to his place of work at Bank of Ireland in Fitzwilliam Place and was last recorded on CCTV passing a Bank of Ireland ATM on Haddington Road at 4.14am. Gardaí at Pearse Street station continue to investigate his disappearance.

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In December 2015, Michael Deely told The Irish Times that “if you give up hope you give up everything”, and that he tried to stay positive about the prospect of seeing his son again.

“We don’t want people to forget about him,” he said. “It’s terrible, absolutely terrible. And you can see the effect on all the family at this time of year.

“Everybody is feeling worn out by it. We say to people to keep watching and keep listening; keep an eye for Trevor and keep his name out there. We won’t let him be forgotten about: that’s the main thing.”

Mr Deely’s funeral Mass will take place at the Church of Our Lady and St David, in Naas on Saturday.