"He’s my son, you don’t understand": Father of Kyran Durnin arrives at scene of latest house search

Kyran’s father, who is not and has never been suspected of any involvement in his child’s disappearance, arrived at the search scene in Drogheda, Louth, with two friends.

After standing at the property for several minutes, he became visibly distressed and shouted at gardaí that he is the boy’s father. He left soon afterward.

Thursday was the second day of searches at the semi-detached home. Security sources said the main focus of this search is the back garden of the property.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau were seen using excavating equipment to dig up the garden. Searches are expected to continue into the weekend.

Kyran, who would now be eight years old, was first reported missing from his grandmother’s home in Drogheda, Co Louth, at the end of August last year – but is believed to have disappeared two years before that.

Kyran Durnin.

"He's my son. You don't understand"

Tusla, the child and family agency, said it had also engaged with the family. Previous visits to the family home by Tusla reported it as being "in squalor". Attempts to check on the family from 2022 to 2024 were frustrated when the door was not answered.

It is also alleged that a "decoy child" was brought in during meetings with Tusla in a bid to conceal Kyran’s death.

Kyran’s mother, Dayla, is understood to be still in the UK.

Gardaí were stunned by the sudden death of one of the prime suspects in the case, who officers suspected had disposed of the child’s body. Anthony Maguire died by suicide at his Drogheda home at the end of last year just days after being released without charge. He had been arrested on suspicion of the child’s murder.

Security sources familiar with the investigation told the Irish Daily Mail that Maguire’s death was a "huge blow."

"There is a man dead so I do not want to be too flippant about this but there’s a real sense of concern among gardaí about what Maguire has taken to his own grave," the source said.

"There has been a wall of silence"

"There are several other key suspects still alive, of course, but he was seen as someone who may have turned on the others and given the information that gardaí needed to find the child’s body.

"There has been a wall of silence from the other suspects so it’s easy for them to turn around now and say, 'it was all Maguire. We had nothing to do with it. We were afraid', that sort of thing."

Gardaí continue to appeal for the public’s assistance over Kyran’s disappearance.

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.