Family members of the late Patrick Nugent are to meet with Department of Justice officials next week to discuss the findings of an inquiry into the investigation of his death in 1984.
A Garda investigation, a criminal trial, and an inquest have all failed to establish the full truth around the death of the Bunratty Castle banqueting manager.
Patrick’s family initially believed he suffered a heart attack but a postmortem later revealed he died after sustaining extensive internal injuries consistent with a road traffic collision. The 1985 pathology report concluded Mr Nugent was not standing upright when he was apparently struck by a car.
Minister for Justice, Heather Humphreys (FG) confirmed on Tuesday that the long-awaited advice from the Attorney General had been received. She said an in-person meeting was to take place next week with the Nugent family to explain the next steps regarding Judge Clyne’s final report
Clare TD, Michael McNamara (IND) who has raised the matter on numerous occasions in the Dáil told The Clare Echo, ““I am glad that the family will get to discuss the report. It seems that a very serious crime wasn’t investigated properly. The report needs to be published, first for the Nugent family but also for broader society who have a lot of questions”.
Deirdre Nugent, a sister-in-law of Patrick’s said the family remains in limbo with no guarantee of seeing the report. “I would imagine the report will be comprehensive, so it’s very hard to pre-empt what’s going to be in it. The years have rolled into one other, but whatever happens, the family is not going to give up on this, we need the truth, and we need justice”.
