NEWS & EVENTS
the IRISH MIRROR ARTICLES on missing persons
The Irish Mirror is running a series of articles this week (13 May) highlighting our Missing Persons. Click here to view: www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/missing-persons-missed-irish-mirror-35214062
VHI Women's MINI MARATHON, JUNE 1 2025
Please sponsor our 3 runners in the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon on 1 June 2025 to help us support the families of Missing Persons, email helpline@nmph.ie or phone Lynn at 1800 442 552 for more information. Alternatively, DONATE directly via on our iDonate page. Click here to send a donation online.
AWAReness day, liffey valley shopping centre, Dublin, 5 april 2025
We had a great response to our Awareness Day in Liffey Valley on Saturday 5 April 2025. Our thanks to everyone who took the time to visit and chat with us. Your kind words of thanks and encouragement are very much appreciated and we will hopefully revisit in the coming months.
missing persons statistics 2024
Click here to view 2024 Missing Persons Statistics (PDF 765kb) in Ireland and contacts made to the National Missing Persons Helpline. These figures are based on published Missing Persons Alerts only.
FAMILY PEER SUPPORT MORNING
The National Missing Persons Helpline held very well attended support mornings on the 8th February 2025, 19th October, 8th June, 24th February 2024 and 4th November 2023.
MISSING PERSONS DAY, 4 DECEMBER 2024
National Missing Persons Day was held on Wednesday, 4 December 2024. National Missing Persons Day is an annual commemorative day for families and friends to remember their missing loved ones.
AWAReness day, eyre square centre, galway
Saturday 24 august 2024
What a pleasure it was to meet so many Galwegians interested in our work with Missing Persons. Thanks to all who donated, your generosity is much appreciated. We look forward to meeting you all again. Listen back to Chairperson Dermot Browne speaking on Galway Bay FM.
awareness day in NAVAN TOWN CENTRE, may 2024
National Missing Persons Helpline Awareness Day in Navan, Co Meath: A very rewarding day in Navan with lots of interest and feedback from members of the public. Thank you to everyone who chatted with our team, checked our Missing Gallery and donated to our cause.
VHI MINI MARATHON CHARITY SPOTLIGHT: nmph
VHI Mini Marathon Charity Spotlight: The National Missing Persons Helpline featured on the VHI Mini Marathon blog. Click here to view just some of the important work our charity carries out:
www.vhiwomensminimarathon.ie/blogs/charity-spotlight-the-national-missing-persons-helpline
SKY DOCUMENTARIES: SIX SILENT KILLINGS
Sky Documentaries broadcast their two part documentary series on six of Ireland's Missing Persons cases on 12th and 19th November 2023. View NMPH Chairperson Dermot Browne's response to the broadcast here (PDF 153kb).
PRESENTATION IN the DÁIL, 18TH October 2023
On the 18th October 2023, Dermot Browne, Chairperson of the National Missing Persons Helpline, addressed Oireachtas members in the AV room in Leinster house. To view the presentation click here (PDF 642kb).
Posting alerts on NMPH Facebook page
Each and every day, we receive messages from members of the public, asking that we post details of a family member or friend who has gone missing. There are many reasons why somebody may choose to go missing and while it can cause tremendous worry and hurt, they are entitled to do so, as long as they are not in danger or a danger to others.
GDPR legislation places restrictions on the posting of personal details without permission.
An exception to this is a Garda Missing Persons Alert which is issued by Press Release. We strongly recommend that if you are worried for the safety of a family member whose whereabouts are unknown, you should contact Gardaí immediately and make a report. When doing so, and if you are a next of kin, you should give permission for Gardai to publicise the person's details if they consider it appropriate and/or necessary.
We cannot post any details until we receive a Garda public alert, please bear this in mind before messaging us
We are happy to advise or help in whatever way we can, but we have to follow the appropriate protocols.
Special Notice
The National Missing Persons Helpline is operated by Missing in Ireland Support Service (MISS) and we do our absolute utmost to try and help all who are affected by a missing loved one or friend. With the exception of our colleagues in CCMPSAR, we do not have any working or other agreements in place with entities operating in the general area of "Missing Persons" in this country. While we are happy for our posts to be shared as widely as possible, in order to reach a greater audience and increase the chances of finding those listed as "Missing", we do not approve of our alerts being recreated or digitally extracted and/or altered by others, particularly to the extent that they may rightly or wrongly be interpreted as originating from that particular source.
We recently posted about our logo being used on privately produced posters, without any prior notice or agreement. It has now been brought to our attention that selected extracts from our alerts are being broadcast on TikTok by another group whose name closely resembles our own. It is our policy to post Garda Alerts as they are issued, updates are provided as we receive them, the post is then removed after a short while out of respect to both the missing person and their families. Unfortunately, where our content is copied/pasted or otherwise altered and posted elsewhere, the information has the potential to be online for an indeterminate period of time. This can have a negative affect on both the individual whose details were published as well as the family - particularly in the case of a tragic outcome.
These developments are a worrying trend for us, as they are beyond our control. We would greatly appreciate if our followers could let us know of any cases where they think we are being misrepresented, so that we can begin to address the issue.
2023: Coronial data on unidentified remains published for the first time
Advancements in DNA profiling have led to case breakthroughs in recent years. The provision of a DNA profile to Forensic Science Ireland by family members of a missing person can assist in solving unidentified bodies and missing person cases.
With this in mind, in December 2022, Coroners were asked to return updated details of any unidentified remains for their coronial district as part of their annual statutory returns to the Minister for Justice. Minister McEntee committed to publishing this data once collated. Today, the Department of Justice is publishing the information returned by the Coroners, which may assist in the identification of the remains, for the first time. Full report available here
Collaboration with THE Grafton Barber
We have a partnership with The Grafton Barber which provides us with a new means of informing the public in the hope that it will jog someone’s memory or conscience and encourage them to come forward with information. The Grafton Barber have information screens in all of their branches, they are located in the waiting area and also street facing for passers-by. We have been provided with the facility to display images and details of four Missing Persons which will change at monthly intervals.
If you would like to see your missing loved one included in this initiative, please get in touch.
Database of unidentified human remains should be set up for families of missing people, coroner says
Currently there is no official record of how many unidentified bodies or remains are stored in hospital mortuaries or laying in graves.
A database of unidentified human remains should be established to help return them to their loved ones, a coroner says. Galway West Coroner Dr Ciaran MacLoughlin said this database should be shared across all Garda stations and coroners offices in the Republic.
Currently there is no official record of how many unidentified bodies or remains are stored in hospital mortuaries or laying in graves. Dr MacLoughlin was speaking at the inquest into the death of Denis Walsh Jnr, whose family were informed last February that his partial body had in fact been discovered 25 years ago, held in a hospital mortuary for 18 years and eventually buried in a communal grave in Co Galway.
Mr Walsh went missing from his home in Caherdavin, Limerick, on March 9, 1996. Four weeks later on April 7, and unknown to his family, the 23-year old’s remains, including his torso, partial skull and hair, arms and forearms, were discovered washed up on Inis Mor, off Galway Bay.
