Former DJ casts doubts over Cairns witness claims

Former RTÉ DJ Gareth O’Callaghan has said he doubts convicted paedophile Eamon Cooke murdered missing schoolboy Philip Cairns.

Mr O’Callaghan, who was hired by Cooke to work at Radio Dublin when he was 18, and who is also a distant cousin of Philip’s, said that many aspects of the latest revelations did not add up.

He told RTÉ’s Liveline that Cooke’s house in Inchicore, Dublin, where the radio station was based, was constantly full of people and he couldn’t understand how a murder could have been committed there.

“It was hectic. It was an open front door, 24 hours a day. It was the first station to go through the night so there was constantly people coming and going.

“There was a stream of people dropping in requests, there were people collecting prizes, dropping people off. The house was never empty. There was always at least 10 to 15 people buzzing around that tiny house,” he said.

“How did Cooke hit him [Philip] over the head, knock him unconscious and kill him and then remove his body without anybody in the entire radio station being aware that anything was wrong?”

Mr O’Callaghan said he never saw any young boys around the station. “Cooke’s preference was young girls,” he said.

He said there were always schoolgirls in the 13 to 17 age group coming in to work on the telephones, but they never stayed longer than a week or two.

“He was very strict in the type of young girls he looked for — vulnerable young teenagers, very innocent, coming from troubled backgrounds. That’s not Philip. Philip came from a gorgeous family.”

Mr O’Callaghan said he did not doubt the personal experiences of the witness — a victim of Cooke’s abuse — who contacted gardaí recently about Philip, but he questioned her account of what she said happened to the 13-year-old.

“It just doesn’t add up. First of all, regarding her memories of Philip being hit over the head with an implement by Cooke — she was nine at the time.

'Cooke was an evil monster... but... her memories don't add up' We're speaking to @GarethOCal on his recent FB posthttps://t.co/fM9kORJkix

— Liveline (@rteliveline) June 13, 2016

“Also, Philip was on his way back to school in his uniform. How did he end up that afternoon in Radio Dublin? There were lots of other bigger radio stations he was probably listening to. Radio Dublin was on its way out at that stage.”

Philip disappeared in October 1986 after leaving his home in Rathfarnham, Dublin, to return to school after lunch.

Eamon Cooke, 79, died earlier this month after serving almost 10 years in jail for multiple counts of sexual assault on young girls in the 1970s and 1980s.