Kyran Durnin: Latest information about the mysterious disappearance of the young boy

The troubling disappearance of a young boy who is believed to have died more than two years ago continues to play on the minds of people across the country.

The last official sighting of Kyran Durnin was in May 2022, when he was a six year old student in junior infants at a local national school in Dundalk.

Serious questions have since been raised about how the young boy’s disappearance could go largely unnoticed until August of 2024 - when he was reported missing alongside his mother, Dayla Durnin. Dayla has since been found safe and well in the UK without her son.

Read more: Kyran Durnin latest: Tusla received no referrals from school over child’s attendance

Read more: What happened to Kyran Durnin? Timeline of the young boy’s mysterious disappearance

Kyran’s school claims it never raised alarm bells when he didn’t return for the new school year because it was informed that the youngster was moving to Northern Ireland. Meanwhile Tusla defended its organisation by claiming the boy’s disappearance went unnoticed because it received no referral of concern for Kyran’s welfare at any point over the two years.

In the latest development in the investigation, the Irish Mirror reports “a number of men” known to the boy’s family have contacted gardai claiming to have no knowledge of his disappearance.

At least two of the men were known to Kyran's mother, Dayla Durnin, the paper reports.

"A number of men have been in contact with us to make it clear they knew the family but not Kyran and had nothing to do with him going missing," the source said.

"They each rang in good faith and were very helpful to our enquiries. We are building up a profile of the young lad's life where he lived and who he met. This is an important part of the whole evidence gathering operation so that we know as much about the child as possible."

The source added: "Some people have been pointing the finger of blame at these individuals but they are totally innocent and had nothing to do with Kyran's disappearance."

It is understood that Kyran's biological father had not been involved in the child's life for the last two years.

The Garda source added: "There is a big cover up going on and we are trying to get to the bottom of it. We suspect a handful of people know what happened to Kyran and are saying nothing.

"We are hoping their conscience will eventually get the better of them and they will tell the truth."

What we know so far: Timeline of Kyran Durnin's disappearance

May 2022: The last confirmed sighting of Kyran is when he is a six-year-old junior infant student at a local national school in Dundalk. He is a pupil there until approximately the end of the 2021/2022 primary school year. The school says the family informed them they were moving to Northern Ireland and Kyran would not be returning for the next school year.

30th August 2024: Kyran and his mother are reported missing. The report claims they were last seen at about 11pm on the 28th of August, 2024. Kyran’s grandmother shares several appeals on social media saying: “This is my grandson Kyran. If anyone has any information about him or his whereabouts, can you please contact your local Garda station? He needs to be found as soon as possible."

4th September 2024: Kyran’s mother was located safe and well in the UK.

16th October 2024: Gardaí issue an appeal for information into the disappearance of Kyran and say he is now “missing presumed dead”.

21st October 2024: Investigating Gardaí take possession of a house in Emer Terrace, Dundalk acting under a search warrant. The house was Kyran’s family home for a period of years up to May 2024. The search reportedly brings no significant evidence into Kyran's disappearance.

22nd October 2024: In a statement, Tusla, the child and family agency, says it alerted Garda to a “significant concern” in August this year.

"We can confirm that whilst Kyran was not in the care of Tusla, our services had engaged with both he and his family. In August 2024, we alerted An Garda Síochána in relation to a significant concern about Kyran.

"Since August, we have continued to assist and work closely with the Gardaí, and in line with normal practice, all relevant information has been shared.

"We can also confirm that, as appropriate, a notification has been sent to the National Review Panel, whose responsibility is to independently review cases of serious incidents involving children in care or known to Tusla. We have also commenced an internal review, to look at our engagements and interactions with Kyran and his family."

4th November 2024: The chief executive of Tusla explains on RTE Radio 1 that Kyran's disappearance went unnoticed by the agency for so long because it "received no referrals of concern either through our child protection welfare services or our educational support services."