KELLY Lynch’s mother, Julieanne, has spoken of her ongoing frustration and heartbreak as she remains in the dark about the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death.
The body of Ms Lynch, a much-loved 23-year-old from Lisnaskea, was found in the Ulster Canal in Monaghan on St Patrick’s Day 2024.
It has been reported that Ms Lynch was on her way home from a night out in Monaghan with her boyfriend and his friends on March 16. Her last confirmed sighting was outside a national school.
Kelly’s body was discovered 400-yards from a bridge over the Ulster Canal around 30 hours later.
“We are still waiting on the peer review, we just don’t know how long that is going to be,” Julieanne told the ‘Herald this week.
“There is absolutely no closure for us, it takes a mental toll on us. It’s only natural that it is going to be like that and it’s also leaving us frustrated. There is just no closure for what happened to Kelly and in order for us to be able to grieve in any way we need some kind of closure.
“Kelly’s death had remained under the radar for so long and it wasn’t even widely reported at the time of her death and I will never understand why, but I felt that it was my job to make everyone aware of what happened to Kelly.
“There has been an injustice somewhere along the line. The investigation wasn’t done correctly from what I have seen and other experts have spoken to. They say protocols were not followed that morning and there has to be answers for reasons why they weren’t followed.”
Kelly’s mother says 16 months on, she’s still waiting for clear answers about her daughter’s final hours, and fears the truth is being buried under hearsay and silence.
“I honestly expected us to have some answers by now, even the simplest questions have not been answered. I just feel that 16 months on we are no wiser to the circumstances that surrounded Kelly’s death and who she was with in the hours and the minutes before she died,” she continued.
“I just can’t go by hearsay of what a group of people have said. I need facts and I need evidence that these people were actually with Kelly and saw her walking off.
“I just wish that people would understand the reason why we are fighting so hard for Kelly and the fact that she had 93 injuries and the state of her clothes, it just was made to look like something it wasn’t and I just don’t believe my daughter’s death was accidental.”
A community fundraiser, ‘A Day for Kelly,’ will be held in Dundalk on September 7 to help cover legal costs and celebrate Kelly’s memory with music, laughter, and togetherness ahead of her 25th birthday.
Kelly’s family is urging anyone with information to come forward.
“Please come forward, help us, and in this day in age things can be done so anonymously. Nobody needs to know that you have come forward to help us, but we have to live with this for the rest of our lives and imagine having that information about what happened to Kelly. Can they live with themselves and that knowledge for the rest of their lives?”