STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN KELLY

Senator John Kelly has today reacted with dismay to some media reports, which suggest that

a commission of inquiry into the death of Fr. Niall Molloy in 1985, will now most likely not proceed.

This, according to Kelly, is despite it being a pre-election promise of both government parties, that

they would as a ‘matter of priority’ to review the Molloy case, with opposition deputies at the time,

Shatter and Rabbitte, declaring themselves to be shocked by the new revelations (see attached

newspaper article from November 17th 2010). Also on the 17th of November 2010,, both current

Ministers Shatter and Rabbitte actually quizzed the then Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern on

this very issue.

They did appear then to ask the very same questions of Minister Ahern as Senator John Whelan

and myself are asking presently of the current Minister Shatter, (again, see second attachment).

The most striking aspect of the media reports on this issue over the past twenty four hours for

Senator Kelly, is the suggestion that the cold case squad actually recommended to the Minister,

that there be a public enquiry into Fr. Molloy’s death. The Roscommon based Senator contends

that if that indeed is the case, then somewhere between leaving the cold case squad and arriving

at the Minister’s desk, this recommendation was changed. Kelly stressed that the Molloy family,

the people of Roscommon and indeed all Irish people, deserve to know the truth of what

happened on that fateful day in 1985, and he personally is calling on the Minister for Justice to

honour his stated intention to do everything possible, if elected to power, to get to the bottom of

this sorry saga.

Noel D. Walsh

Assistant to Senator John Kelly,

Room 118, Annex 32, Leinster House, Kildare St., Dublin 2

<john-kelly.jpg>

Fr. Niall Molloy – Unsolved Murder 1985