Appeal for the stars of mystery snaps found in tourist spot

STAFF at one of the biggest tourist attractions in Ireland are hoping to reunite a family with their long-lost photographs.

Employees at Blarney Castle were recently tidying up their lost property office when they came across the pictures, which date back to the 1940s and 1950s.

The black and white photographs were found on the castle grounds on April 21, 2006 and handed into the office.

Blarney Castle marketing manager, Jean Murphy, said they were contained in a silver envelope, which had “Janet and Pete” written on the front of it.

Judging by the dress, she believes those pictured are Irish or English and are of a specific family and their relatives.

There are eight pictures in total, two of which are identical. The picture of a woman holding a baby, with a boy standing next to her by iron railings, has “Janice, aged three-and-a-half and Robert, aged six months”, written on the back and states that it was taken in 1942.

It appears to be the same trio in another photograph, paddling in the sea.

The picture of a man flanked by two women with a coastal backdrop states on the back “Jan, Jerry and me” and was taken in 1955.

There is no indication of who the two women sitting in the sand dunes are, or of the larger family group pictured on the side of a hill.

There is also no writing on the back of the photograph featuring a man, two women, two children and a dog.

“We’re hoping somebody out there recognises the pictures and we can return them to their rightful owners. If that doesn’t happen soon we will put them up on our website,” Ms Murphy said.

Considering that Blarney castle hosts around 300,000 visitors a year that may prove akin to finding a needle in a haystack.