Article from March 2013
Irish American Annie McCarrick's disappearance 20 years on, Larry Murphy still a prime suspect
McCarrick, a native of Long Island in
New York, was 26 years old when she disappeared. She had studied abroad in Ireland and had returned to live and work there while she researched her family’s Irish roots.
McCarrick was sharing an apartment with two Irish girls in Sandymount, Dublin when she went missing. The American girl had been looking forward to a visit from her mother Nancy who was due to arrive just a few days after her disappearance.
On Friday, March 26, 1993, McCarrick didn’t show up to work when she was expected to be collecting wages.
The following day, her friends grew concerned when they arrived at her apartment for a previously arranged dinner party, but there was no sign of McCarrick.
McCarrick’s late father, John, had said he knew something was wrong immediately when Annie’s friends in Dublin phoned back to New York saying they didn’t know where Annie was.
“She was always reaching out and touching someone... She would never have gone a day without talking to someone… We were very, very concerned,” her father told ABC News in America.
Former Garda Commissioner Donnellan also remembers the immediate mystery that surrounded the case. “I was off at the weekend on that Friday and Saturday, and I got a call from Irishtown station that a girl had disappeared in very mysterious circumstances.”
“She was staying in a flat near Sandymount with two other girls. They were going to their homes in Cork so she was at a loose end and phoned a friend to go for a walk in Enniskerry, but her friend couldn’t go so she went off alone.”
McCarrick was reportedly seen and videoed on CCTV while at both an AIB and her local grocery store. After that, she took a bus to Ranelagh, and then to Enniskerry.
The final confirmed sighting of McCarrick came from a work colleague who saw her in a restaurant in Donnybrook. One person came forward to say they thought they had served her in the post office in Enniskerry, although this was never confirmed.
The timeline still confuses me more.
She was reportedly seen and videoed on CCTV footage while on an AIB and her local grocery store....at what time was this? Then there is stated that the final confirmed sighting came from a work colleague who saw her in a restaurant in Donnybrook. A strange way of saying. Do they mean the restaurant where Annie was working? When was she last seen/working there? And why is this so relevant, seeing her in the CCTV footage on the day she went missing, they would have an exact time? Why is this time nowhere mentioned? Also on what day did her roommates leave, when did they saw her for the last time? What was Annie's demeanor?
According to the CP file she was sighted on the 44 Bus from Ranelagh to Enniskerry, at 3:40 p.m. By whom?....the final confirmed sighting was by a co-worker.
Than she took a bus to Ranelagh.. (keep in mind they believe also that her journey took her beyond Milltown, why?) and then to Enniskenny. This is unsure, not a fact, I believe. Was there a stop over on Ranelagh? It sounds like that.
Another unconfirmed sighting of McCarrick was at Johnnie Fox’s pub in the Dublin mountains. Sam Doran, a doorman at the pub, came forward after his colleague Paul O’Reilly pointed out McCarrick’s picture in the newspapers. Doran said who he believed to be McCarrick had come to the door of the ‘Hooley Room,’ without realizing there was a cover charge.
Doran said that the woman was accompanied by a man wearing a wax jacket who paid for her cover and paid for her throughout the evening.
McCarrick was never seen leaving the pub, and the man she was reportedly with never came forward.
Another thing puzzling me. She supposedly came to the door of the Hooly Room, without realizing there was a cover charge. The cover charge was -if I remember right- 2 pounds. Annie had been there before, so how could she not know there was a cover charge, or was this just this evening. I suppose if you go on a daytrip you take money with you for eating, drinking and transport. 2 pounds doesn't seem that much to me. She worked in a restaurant so maybe her wages were not that high, but having totally nothing on you seems odd. Also she went to the Allied Irish Banks (AIB) earlier that day, (CCTV footage confirming this) Did she needed to spare the money for the bus home? And how does the doorman know the guy paid everything that night? Being at the door and not in the establishment...was he serving too?? And why nobody saw her leaving? Where was de doorman. what was he doing?
Earlier this month, a magazine based in Dublin tauted that they may have more information on the Annie McCarrick disappearance, but the notion was quickly dismissed by gardai.
Larry Murphy, a convicted rapist from Co Wicklow, remains a prime suspect in Annie McCarrick’s disappearance. Murphy was jailed for 15 years for the abduction, rape and attempted murder of a woman in February 2000. He was released in 2010 and is now believed to be living in the Netherlands.
He doesn't live in Amsterdam anymore, there are articles stating he wanted to come back to Ireland.
There was widespread opposition upon Murphy's early release, and the residents of his home town, Baltinglass, announced that he would not be welcome in the village. After he was released he was considered a high risk offender and was visited by a member of the Gardaí every month.[12]
It was known that Murphy had fled the country and taken up residence in the south of Spain, where he was under surveillance by police. Shortly afterwards he moved to Amsterdam. During his time there witnesses, hitherto unaware of his past, reported that he frequented several bars but was quiet and kept to himself. He drank and smoked cannabis regularly and at times approached and attempted to strike up conversation with young women. In time the media became aware of his location and under increased scrutiny from Dutch police, Murphy fled to Spain through France.[13][14]
Living in the south of Spain, in late May 2011, Murphy's wallet and passport were allegedly stolen while engaging the services of a prostitute. This led him to consult the Spanish authorities in a bid to travel back to Ireland to obtain a new passport. As a result of his background becoming known, there was much dissention among the local population regarding his presence there. Two weeks later, after his new documents were in order, he returned to southern Spain.[13]
In November 2012 he was photographed by journalists in Amsterdam, where he was found living with a friend, a convicted double rapist. This was aired on a 60-minute exclusive episode of TV3's prime-time Midweek TV program.[15]
In January 2013, there were some local rumours (quickly spread on social media) that he had been seen in Saggart, Co. Dublin, but this was quickly denied by crime journalist Paul Williams, who stated that he was then living in Amsterdam.[16]
In June 2014, it was reported that he was living in South London under an alias, working as a carpenter.[17]
Larry Murphy (criminal) - Wikipedia
To this day, Donnellan remains perplexed by McCarrick’s unanswered disappearance: “We had always hoped that we would get the right call. It is so tragic. If people went missing in the US, you would not be surprised, but not in the island of saints and scholars.”
