Ian Begley and Emma Nolan
THE case of missing Rathfarnham boy Philip Cairns has developed in recent days following the death of notorious paedophile Eamon Cooke.
Sources have revealed to The Gazette that five years ago, two women reported to gardai that they saw Philip Cairns under Templeogue Bridge a week after he went missing.
This rumour has not been confirmed; it does, however, link in with the fresh details that have emerged surrounding his disappearance.
The 13-year-old vanished as he was walking home from school at lunchtime on October 23, 1986
A woman came forward with new information in May which saw gardai open new lines of enquiry into the case. She said that Cooke may have killed the child at the studios of his pirate radio station.
Hundreds of sightings of Philip were reported over the years, but no trace of the schoolboy has been found.
The advance in the case came last month when the woman, who was nine years old at the time of the incident, told detectives that Cooke had knocked the schoolboy unconscious after hitting him in his studio.
Gardai believe that the woman was terrified to give information while Cooke was still alive, but when she found out he was on his deathbed, she spoke more freely.
Gardai interviewed Cooke before he died, where he admitted that that Philip had been in his radio studio in Inchicore, but did not admit to killing him.
Other former victims of paedophile Cooke will be traced by investigating gardai regarding the schoolboy’s disappearance.
In a statement, gardai said: “We would appeal to these people who would have been children when Philip went missing on October 23, 1986, to come forward.
“Eamon Cooke abused very many children, who were so terrified of him that they have never come forward.
“Now that he is dead … these people may be in a position to come and talk to the gardai.”t
