The Dublin County Coroner has requested the exhumation of the body of a baby girl who was found stabbed to death in a laneway 33 years ago. Dr Kieran Geraghty said yesterday at the reopened inquest into the infant's death that he had written to Minister for Justice Michael McDowell requesting an exhumation from Glasnevin cemetery.
The inquest into the baby's death was reopened last September after legal representations were made on behalf of Cynthia Owen, the woman who came forward 11 years ago claiming to be the mother of the baby girl, called Noleen.
Ms Owen has claimed the baby was one of two she gave birth to at a young age as a result of sexual abuse during the 1970s when she was living in Dalkey, south Dublin. She has claimed the other infant was buried in the back garden of her family home in Dalkey but a Garda search last year did not uncover any remains.
Dr Geraghty said at the court sitting in Tallaght yesterday that the baby's exhumation from the Little Angels plot in Glasnevin would be difficult but was necessary in order to try and identify the remains. "It is a very difficult question because it would disturb a lot of graves and be an archaeological-type dig. It's very uncertain what the outcome might be."
Dr Geraghty added that it was possible through DNA profiling that the infant might be identified. There was evidence the baby was buried in a solid wood box, he said. "There is a suggestion that the soil in Glasnevin might not be acid and may be waterlogged so the baby may be preserved."
Dr Geraghty told the court he wrote to Mr McDowell last Friday and sent him "extensive files including statements from experts" outlining how an exhumation would proceed.
"It is the view of the gardaí that they cannot proceed with their inquiries without an exhumation."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said that Mr McDowell would come to a decision about the exhumation "in the coming days".
Meanwhile, the voluntary, independent body that owns and operates Glasnevin cemetery, the Dublin Cemeteries Committee, said it did not support the exhumation and neither would most of the families with infants buried at the plot. Some 50,000 babies are buried there.
"We would not be in favour of this because of the disturbance. We have had a lot of upset and irate people on the phone to us today. I would say they would be horrified," committee chief executive George McCullough said yesterday.
"There has been no indication that this was in the pipeline. We have been helping the Garda and archaeologists in the past year with their investigation and thought they had come to the conclusion that it was not feasible."
Mr McCullough said they knew exactly which grave the infant was buried in but that "hundreds" of other infants might be disturbed in an attempt to reach this grave. There are 20-25 infants buried in each grave.
"Under ministerial order, we would be obliged to allow the exhumation. I don't think they've thought this through clearly."
Dr Geraghty yesterday adjourned the inquest until November 9th at the request of Insp Pat Ward from Dún Laoghaire Garda station as the file in relation to the investigation into the infant's death was still with the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Kieron Wood, for Ms Owen, said he understood from the DPP's office that a decision in relation to possible criminal proceedings would be forthcoming in the next week or so.
Speaking outside court yesterday, Ms Owen welcomed the news of the proposed exhumation. "It's about time that the truth in this case comes out. It's a very emotional time for me at the moment but hopefully the truth will come out in the end," she said.