'Gardaí will exhaust every option available' to solve case of Cork couple missing since 1991

When Fermoy gardaí gained entry to the Dwyers' home in 1991, the house appeared undisturbed, with the couple’s passports accounted for and no sign of disturbance

Conor and Sheila Dwyer, a couple missing from Fermoy since 1991, disappeared without a trace.

Gardaí say the case of a missing North Cork couple who were last seen 35 years ago remains active and ongoing, with a number of searches carried out over the past year.

Conor and Sheila Dwyer were 62 and 60 respectively when they were last seen at 9.30am on Tuesday, April 30, 1991, near their Chapel Hill home in Fermoy. They were not seen publicly again, and three weeks later the alarm was raised by Ms Dwyer's sisters.

When Fermoy gardaí gained entry to the Dwyers' home, the house appeared undisturbed, with the couple’s passports accounted for and no sign of disturbance. A biscuit tin containing £1,000 — then a very substantial amount of money — was found in the house.

The only thing missing was the Toyota Cressida car they drove, registration number 5797 ZT. The car had been taxed four months earlier, and it has never been seen. Gardaí believe the car could hold the key to the case.

Detective Inspector Anne-Marie Guiney is based in Bandon and is in charge of the investigation. She said a number of searches and inquiries have been made over the past year, with the investigation remaining active and open.

“Gardaí will exhaust every option available,” she said. “We would like to once again appeal to members of the public who may have any information to contact us.” 

Mr O’Dwyer was described as 5’8” in height, 11 stone and of a stocky build, with dark, receding hair parted to the right. He wore dark-rimmed glasses. Ms O’Dwyer was described as 5’4” tall and of a slim build, with fair/blonde hair.

In March 1997, Conor and Sheila Dwyer’s home was sold at public auction, along with a separate site they had owned in another part of Fermoy. If they are still alive today, Conor Sr and Sheila would now be 97 and 95 respectively.

The disappearance of Billy Fennessey

In an eerie but unconnected coincidence, 54-year-old former Fermoy town councillor Billy Fennessey had disappeared on March 30, 1990, some 14 months before the Dwyers vanished.

For more than two decades, no trace of Mr Fennessy was discovered, and his disappearance would become entwined in the public imagination with that of the Dwyers.

Then, in 2012, members of the Blackwater Sub Aqua Search and Rescue team discovered human remains in the wreckage of a car submerged in silt 3.5 metres underwater in the River Blackwater. DNA testing later proved the remains to be those of Mr Fennessy, allowing his family some closure.

No such closure has come for the loved ones of Conor and Sheila Dwyer, and with every passing year the memory of the couple has faded a little more in Fermoy.

Anyone with information on the Dwyers’ disappearance is asked to call the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666111 or Fermoy Garda Station on 025 82100.