Dublin People - Mother seeks help in finding missing son

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Mother seeks help in finding missing son

Tuesday, 29 April 2008

A DEVASTATED Northside mother has revealed the heartache she has endured since her son went missing eight months ago.
Distraught Marie McCarthy, from Grangemore Grove, Donaghmede, is appealing to the public for help in tracing her son Paul (30), who she has not seen since last August.
Despite a concerted effort by her family to find Paul, concerned Marie told Northside People she is now beginning to fear the worst for her son.
She said her pain is added to by the fact that Paul has a five-year-old daughter who doesn’t yet realise her Daddy is missing.
Paul, who left home at the age of 18, had been living out of hostels in the city centre in the months leading up to his disappearance.
“Paul was last spotted by the gardai in the city centre in either the first or second week of September, but since then there have been absolutely no sightings of him,” Marie said.

“He was well-known in the hostels around Dublin and to the Simon Community but despite the fact that we have circulated posters of Paul all around these hostels, no information about him has come back to us.”
Marie said her suspicions that Paul could be missing first surfaced after he failed to appear at his aunt’s funeral.
“The last time I actually saw Paul was when he visited the house for a change of clothes on a Tuesday,” Marie stated.
“My sister was extremely sick at the time and he gave me e10 to buy flowers for her.
“Unfortunately, she passed away the following Saturday but Paul didn’t show up at the funeral and that was when I began to worry about him.”
Marie said Paul’s five-year-old daughter, who lives with her mother in Carlow, thinks her Dad has gone abroad to England.
“I go down to visit her every three weeks and it breaks my heart to know that Paul is missing when I see her,” she said.
“Paul absolutely adored his daughter and was very good to her but she is still unaware that he is actually missing.”
Marie said it was unlikely that Paul has gone abroad, as he had never applied for a passport.
“People have said to me that he may be living in England but I am sure that he has never left the country.
“One thing he never forgot was my birthday in September.
“He would always ring me to wish me well on that day but that didn’t happen last year and he was also not in touch for his daughter’s birthday in November.”
Marie fears that Paul may have been suffering some mental health problems.
“He had not been well for a while and I went everywhere with him to try to help, including counselling,” she revealed.
Marie, who has four other children, said her family is finding it difficult to accept he has gone missing.
“Although he may have been living out of hostels, Paul would always call around to my home, even if it was just for a change of clothes,” she stated.
“My brother-in-law, who is a taxi driver, would often see him hanging around the Busaras depot in the city but it has been a long time since he has last seen him.
“I really fear the worst for him now but I am hoping that somebody may know something that could lead us to Paul,” Marie said.
When last seen, Paul McCarthy was wearing dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt, a navy and white tracksuit top and white runners.
He is described as 6’ 1’’ in height, with blue eyes and mousey blond hair.
A spokesman for the Garda Press Office told Northside People they were anxious for any information in relation to Paul.
Anyone who may have information into his whereabouts is urged to contact Coolock Garda Station on 6664200, or the Garda confidential line on 1800 666111.

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