Donegal Daily
  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Politics
  • Features
  • Donegal County Council News
Tuesday 17°CWednesday 16°C

Donegal Daily Donegal Daily

sponsor banner
sponsor banner
  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Politics
  • Features
  • Donegal County Council News
Lead StoriesNews

Family continue to demand answers on mysterious death of their loved one

written by Stephen Maguire May 8, 2018
FacebookTweetLinkedInPrint

The family of a woman who died in mysterious circumstances in Donegal fifteen years ago have once again demanded answers about her death.

Last month, members of the Reid family gathered to wish their beloved sister, Mary, a very happy birthday.

But there would be no cake, no cards, just a sense of longing… what if, who, what, where, when, how. Where Mary Reid is concerned, there has always been more questions than answers.

As the family gathered, their minds wandered at times, memories of a smiling face, of a determined young woman who would “go hungry to help a stranger” – a woman with the biggest heart in the world.

It was a cold, January evening, the 29th of the month, 2003. A local man out walking on the beach came across a body of a partially clothed woman. It was near Doagh, in Co Donegal, a lonely spot on a winter’s night.

That woman was Mary Reid (49), sister of proud Donegal man but Drogheda-based Joe Reid, who runs Floorstyle on Patrick Street.

Fifteen years later and Joe is still transfixed by what happened to his sister. The authorities say it was suicide, maybe an accidental drowning as she tried to rescue her dog from a stormy sea. Joe feels something more sinister is at play.

But in the years since Mary’s death, no new leads have been uncovered – even today, Joe feels it could be the likes of a Garda ‘whistleblower’ that might shed new light on a case, growing dimmer with the sands of time.

Joe told independent.ie “I wait for the day that I get a call from someone who tells me the real story, the truth about Mary. I know she was the type of girl who’d have done exactly what her family are doing for her now, fighting for justice, justice for Mary.

“Mary was the type of woman who did nothing for herself. That’s why it hurts so much. I feel I haven’t achieved anything for her and that upsets me. But I won’t give up, I won’t give up on Mary.”

The last reported sighting of Mary was in Derry city at 9.30am on that January morning in 2003. Eight hours later, her lifeless body was found on a beach in Donegal.

Mary’s unlocked car was located in a car park. Her car was first noticed parked there at 12.30pm, five hours before her body was discovered a short distance away.

It was reported that her body was still warm when it was found. There was water in her lungs, but did she die there and what was the cause?

But more importantly, where was Mary for five hours between her car being spotted and her body being found?
Her bag was never recovered and the scene was not preserved. The initial feeling was this was a suicide – pure and simple?

“There exists no medical evidence, no written evidence, no verbal evidence and no visual evidence of suicide in relation to Mary’ s death,” Joe states, highly critical of how the gardai handled the situation from the very start.

“Mary’s car had been meticulously cleaned, her bag with personal belongings was never found. The PSNI in Derry were never contacted despite Mary living and working in the city for the previous decade,” Joe reveals.

Gardai re-opened their files into the case in 2005 but it proved inconclusive.

It was claimed that Mary drowned while trying to rescue her dog that had dashed into the sea. That dog was never found and no-one saw her with a dog.

For full story and interview see https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/we-wait-for-the-day-someone-is-brave-enough-to-tell-us-the-full-story-mystery-death-at-donegal-beach-36872757.html

Family continue to demand answers on mysterious death of their loved one was last modified: May 10th, 2018 by Stephen Maguire
FacebookTweetLinkedInPrint

Tags:
brotherdeathdonegalIsle of DoaghJoe ReidMary Reid
Stephen Maguire

Stephen Maguire is the co-founder of Donegal Daily. He has worked as a reporter for almost 30 years starting locally with the Donegal Peoples Press before moving to the Mirror Group. He continues to contribute daily to national media outlets including the Irish Times, RTE, the Irish Independent, Irish Sun, Irish Mirror, Irish Star, the Daily Mail and the Examiner.

LEAVE A COMMENT

You may also like

Watch: Nora’s Rose Garden to bloom this...

4 hours ago

North West 10K races past the €1million...

5 hours ago

Dangerous driver’s car seized a week after...

5 hours ago

Donegal Person of the Year Ball raises...

6 hours ago

No bridge too far as Fintra road...

6 hours ago

Donegal singers in Denver set for historic...

7 hours ago

Stunning ‘two-for-one’ Downings property hits market for...

8 hours ago

Leitrim blogger Jennifer Wrynne ‘grateful’ after shock...

8 hours ago

Claims of young people living among rats...

9 hours ago

One person injured following crash in East...

9 hours ago
Advertisement
Advertisement

Donegal County Council

Facebook
Donegal County Council
Advertisement
Advertisement
Donegal Daily Jobs

Read More

  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Sales & Services
  • Obituaries
  • Features
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Council News

Information

  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise WIth Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions

Our Sites

Donegal Woman
Donegal Woman
Donegal Daily

© 2025 Donegal Daily. All rights reserved.
Website by owenod


Back To Top.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy