Gardaí appeal to mum of baby found at waste centre
Gardaí said this has created a “vast” timeframe in terms of establishing when and where the baby was disposed.
Senior officers yesterday renewed their appeal to the mother to come forward, saying they were concerned about her physical and mental wellbeing.
It was initially thought the baby, named Alannah by gardaí, had been born shortly before her body was discovered by staff at the Greenstar facility in Fassaroe, Bray, on May 4.
“The baby went full term and was born a number of weeks, if not months prior to discovery,” said Superintendent Pat Ward of Bray Garda Station.
“It had been thought it was immediately before, but that’s not the case.”
He said that made the “timeframe vast” in terms of identifying when the baby was disposed.
He pointed out that the facility took in waste from “a number of locations around the country”.
This, he said, made it “very difficult” to focus on any part of the country.
The postmortem indicated that no intentional harm was caused to the baby, who is Caucasian.
Supt Ward said the postmortem was inconclusive as to when the baby died, whether she was at birth or afterwards. He said the baby had gone full term.
He said the tests could not indicate what age the mother was.
“Three months have passed since the discovery of baby Alannah,” said Supt Ward, who is overseeing the investigation.
“I am concerned for the welfare of baby Alannah’s mum. She is most likely in an anxious state of mind and in need of medical assistance.”
Supt Ward said: “I appeal to mum to immediately seek medical treatment.”
He said both himself and Sergeant Sorcha Fitzpatrick are available at Bray Garda Station to provide assistance to the mother as well as the father.
“We will handle any contact discreetly and sensitively,” said Supt Ward.
He said that while they had received some information from the public, they had not progressed identification.
He also appealed to other people who think they might know who the mother could be to contact them.
“It would be unusual that a woman would go full term and give birth without somebody knowing,” said Supt Ward. “So, I am inclined to think someone other than the mother was aware.”
He said they were anxious to establish the facts of what happened.
But he stressed that their focus was on identifying the baby and the parents and on ensuring that the mother received proper medical attention.
Anyone with information is asked to ring Bray Garda Station on 01 6665300, the Garda Confidential Telephone Line at 1800 666111, or any Garda station.
