Daughter of murdered hiker: ‘If someone knows something, just tell’

The family of Michael McCoy (63), who died after he was attacked in the Dublin Mountains last September, has appealed for anyone with information about his death to come forward.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Crimecall programme on Monday night Michael McCoy’s wife and his three daughters made a passionate appeal for information.

His wife, Caitríona McCoy described the evening the family came home to find Michael had not returned from a walk in the Dublin mountains near the family home. “In hindsight you’d notice that things, were not quite right, but the post had not been brought in, the hens hadn’t been let out” she said.

One of his daughters, Suzanne, spoke about the family’s initial attempt to search for their father along his usual hiking track. “We drove up to the usual place where Dad walked ... in case he’d had an accident or had fallen over, and then it was getting a bit dark, he wasn’t there and my mum was getting more nervous, and then we went home and called the guards” she said.

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Caitríona McCoy said “we had the feeling things weren’t quite right you know, and we prepared quite gradually, quite sensibly.”

“They came back at around six in the morning to say that they had found him and he was dead” Suzanne said. Mr McCoy had been walking two of the family boxer dogs, Fia and Sophie.

One of the dogs, Sophie, had remained by his body until it was found by authorities. The remains of the second dog Fia were discovered in the Dublin Mountains a month later.

The eldest daughter Rachel McCoy said: “If someone knows something, just tell, don’t protect someone.”

An inquest into Michael McCoy’s death found he died as a result of blunt force trauma to his head. He was an active conservationist and a regular hillwalker in the area. The family home is located at Ballinascorney Upper, Brittas, in the Dublin mountains.

The Director of Public Prosecutions in June 2017 made the decision not to bring forward a prosecution against anyone for his death. Previously criminal proceedings had been under consideration.

The Crimecall television show also released CCTV footage of Michal Kurek’s (34) last known movements. Mr Kurek was a Polish man living in Irelandstabbed to death this August. The footage shows Mr Kurek walking on a Dart station platform in a black adidas hoodie and jeans, with a disposable brown bag. Mr Kurek’s body was found on Grange Road, Ballyboughal, in north county Dublin, and gardaí in Balbriggan are investigating his murder.