Gardaí are appealing to the public to help them uncover the identity of a deceased man whose body was discovered in Bracetown, Co Meath, in 1991.
On 18 April 1991, a council worker found the man's body in a council yard in Bracetown. His death was not suspicious and gardaí did not suspect any foul play. Due to the absence of any personal ID, gardaí were unable to identify him.
Local enquiries by gardaí yielded potential sightings of the man in a pub in Ratoath the night before. Some locals recalled meeting a man with a Liverpool accent while others thought he may have been Scottish or Irish.
The man was described as being between 45-55 years old, 1.6m (5'5") in height and of medium build. He had brown eyes and light, balding, brown hair that was greying on the sides.
He wore a grey herringbone tweed jacket, labelled 'Taldy Madrid', a white shirt labelled 'Luigi Rossi', grey trousers and very worn, black, zip-up boots (size 8). Gardaí found a St Christopher's medal in his pocket.
It is believed the man had been sleeping rough in Bracetown for up to a week before his body was discovered. Gardaí believe a family member or childhood connection may have brought him to the area.
Gardaí also believe he may have attended a local GAA match on the evening prior to his death.
Extensive investigations at that time by gardaí and Interpol failed to uncover any firm leads and the man’s remains were laid to rest in St Mary's Cemetery in Navan.
In 2021, the case was re-examined by the Garda Missing Persons Unit and gardaí in Trim.
Following an exhumation, the remains underwent forensic testing in the hope that advances in forensic science could help identify the man, however an adequate DNA profile could not be generated.
Working from an old post-mortem file photograph, artist Lynn Kennedy was commissioned to sketch a portrait of the man.
Gardaí are now hoping that the portrait will help to identify the man. They have stressed that this is not a criminal investigation and that the sole purpose of the appeal is to identify the man and notify his family.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Trim Garda Station on 046 9481540 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
The case will feature on Crimecall on RTÉ One at 9.35pm tonight.
