A renewed appeal for information was made by Gardaí this week in relation to the death in Monaghan Town on the St Patrick’s holiday weekend last year of 23-year-old Kelly Lynch. The body of the Co Armagh woman was found in an area of the former Ulster Canal near the Horseshoe Bridge at Mullaghmatt on St Patrick’s Day 2024. Anyone who can recall seeing Ms Lynch walking near the Ulster Canal bridge area at the time has been asked to come forward. “An Garda Síochána is currently conducting a peer review of the original Garda investigation,” said a statement.
“An Garda Síochána is also assisting the coroner’s Inquest and fully co-operating with the GSOC investigation. These processes are ongoing.” In October, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris ordered an internal review into the initial investigation of Ms Lynch’s death after meeting with her family. Ms Lynch’s body was discovered on the morning of Sunday March 17 after a night out with friends in Monaghan Town. Following a post mortem which attributed the cause of death to drowning, the Gardaí initially said they were not treating Ms Lynch’s death as suspicious and referred it to the coroner.
Kelly’s parents Sean and Julieanne Lynch raised concerns over aspects of the Garda investigation and injuries found on their daughter’s body during the post mortem examination. They conducted an information appeal through media outlets and had posters and leaflets seeking information distributed and displayed in Monaghan Town close to the scene where Kelly’s body was located. They secured a meeting with Commissioner Harris, after which he confirmed that a separate Garda division had commenced a review of the investigation. This week’s Garda statement was the first time they had made a public appeal for information…
