In the year of moving statues, Live Aid and the Anglo-Irish Agreement, this was a scandal of GUBU proportions. Rumours abounded and grew, to the point that, thirty-five years later, the Molloy Family is still fighting to restore Fr. Niall’s name.
Richard Flynn admitted to punching Fr. Niall in a row over who would go downstairs for more drinks. His trial for manslaughter a year later lasted less than four hours, as he was acquitted. Judge Frank Roe accepted that Fr. Niall could have had a heart attack during the argument and his head injuries were inflicted as he fell to the ground. The inquest a month later confirmed head injuries to be the cause of death, but it was too late. Richard Flynn was a free man.
In this 2-part documentary, we re-examine what happened in the bedroom that night, go behind the scenes to show who Fr. Niall, Richard and Teresa were, and uncover new information that points towards a motive, and possibly the involvement of a third party in his death.
To truly examine this case, we build a set of the master bedroom in Kilcoursey that night, based on Garda drawings. With three experts, we used the available forensic evidence, statements and testimonies to replay the events, as claimed by Richard Flynn.
In Programme 1, we learn from Fr. Niall’s friends and family how Richard Flynn, Teresa Brennan and Niall Molloy became friends, and how that relationship lasted for decades. All three were from wealthy business families, with Niall’s father, Senator William Molloy in the first senate of the new Ireland, and Teresa with close links to Fianna Fail. Through their mutual interest in horses, Fr. Niall and Teresa had a successful business partnership buying and selling showjumpers, as well as investing in land and property. Fr. Niall even had a bedroom and office in their home, where he stayed when visiting from his parish in Castlecoote.
Local Clara resident and social diarist James Gibbons talks about the big wedding that took place that weekend. Maureen Flynn was marrying Ralph Parkes on July 6th 1985, in a marquee on the grounds of Kilcoursey House in Clara, Co. Offaly. There were over two hundred guests invited, including celebrities, politicians, business people and the horsey set. Fr. Niall didn’t celebrate the wedding, as he was already booked for one in his parish, but he did attend later on, returning to Castlecoote that night.
The following day, after Mass, he travelled back to Clara for a lunch hosted by the Flynns, for the remaining family and friends. That night, Richard, Teresa and Fr. Niall were chatting in the master bedroom when Teresa asked Richard to get more drinks downstairs. He refused, and was attacked by Fr. Niall and Teresa. He hit both of them and knocked them unconscious. Teresa recovered, but Fr. Niall didn’t.
Richard called the parish priest, Fr. Deignan, who lived across the road, at about 12.30am. He came over immediately and gave Fr. Niall the Last Rites. He was still alive. Fr. Deignan went downstairs to help Richard contact a doctor but had to return home to get his glasses to read the phone numbers. When he returned, some of the younger family members and friends had returned from the pub. Fr. Deignan and one of the daughters drove five miles to Kilbeggan to wake up Dr. O’Sullivan, the family GP and close friend. There were two doctors in Clara who were not contacted that night.
When Dr. O’Sullivan arrived at about 2am, Fr. Niall was dead, there was a streak of blood across the bedroom floor, and Teresa was hysterical. He brought her to Tullamore Hospital at 3am, and at 3.15am, Fr. Deignan called over to the local Garda station to inform Sergeant Kevin Forde that a priest had been killed in Flynn’s house, and asked if it could be kept quiet. Kevin, who is now retired, talks about what he found in the early hours of that morning, and how Richard Flynn calmly admitted to being ‘the culprit’.
Nobody called 999.
There was huge media coverage of the story, in particular the idea of a priest being found in a bedroom. Journalist Gene Kerrigan, who attended the trial, speaks about the interest in the case, and how the media was caught out when it lasted less than a day before Richard walked free. The arguments in court between Patrick McEntee for Flynn, Raymond Groarke for the State, State Pathologist John Harbison, and Judge Frank Roe were fascinating; McEntee’s clever questioning of Harbison introduced the idea of Fr. Niall’s heart being damaged, therefore introducing doubt and no further evidence was heard. Judge Roe instructed the jury to acquit Richard Flynn, in what was a hugely controversial decision.
Minister for Justice in 1986, Alan Dukes, was inundated with calls to intervene, but the most he could do was ensure the inquest was watertight. It lasted for three days, longer than the trial, and confirmed the cause of death was head injuries, as per Prof. Harbison’s findings.
Ever since then, the Molloy Family has been campaigning for justice for Fr. Niall, and to dismiss the portrayal of him as having an affair with Teresa Flynn, and being so aggressive that he would attack another man over a drink. Fr. Niall had no offensive or defensive injuries, so he didn’t hit anyone, and wasn’t in a position to defend himself.
After his death, Teresa Flynn submitted a claim on a life assurance policy in Fr. Niall’s name, where she was listed as his sister. She wasn’t.
When the family sought Fr. Niall’s will, which was made before he served in Cyprus as Army Chaplain in 1972, it couldn’t be found. Niall had said it was in the Diocese of Elphin, but there was no record of it. The Molloys, the Army, the State Solicitor and even the Flynn’s solicitor, searched for it, but the Bishop insisted it never existed.
For peak unbelievability, The General stole a number of files from the Office of the DPP, one of which was Fr. Molloy’s. He didn’t return it until the early 1990s, in return for one of his gang being moved to a nicer prison in the UK.
In Programme 2, we unveil our bedroom set, constructed to the exact specifications of the Garda drawings.
Former Northern Ireland State Pathologist, Professor Jack Crane CBE; Forensic Psychologist Dr. Ciara Staunton of UCC; and Former Merseyside Police Crime Scene Investigator Angela Doyle meet in our bedroom. They walk and talk through the evidence and scenario, as presented by Richard Flynn and other statements, to see if the events could have happened as he described. They have another theory.
As part of the four-year development on this documentary, Producer Sharon Lawless and Researcher Maresa Fagan meet Bill Maher and Henry McCourt – Fr. Niall’s nephews – to discuss some of their findings and ask further questions about the case. There are a couple of surprises for the cousins, and a delve into the relationship between Fr. Niall and the Flynns.
The timeline of the night has always been questionable, and when all the statements are compared, there is a forty-five minute discrepancy between them, centred around when Fr. Niall, Richard and Teresa returned to Kilcoursey House. We ask why Teresa was removed from the scene before the Gardaí were called, and why nobody did anything to save Fr. Niall, who took hours to die, according to Prof. Crane.
There has been a rumour for decades that someone else killed Fr. Niall, and Richard was covering up for them. He was supposed to have been attacked downstairs in front of several guests, and carried up to the bedroom.
Judge Roe was thought to have been a friend of the Flynns and Fr. Niall, due to his interest in horses, and that this influenced his judgement.
In 2011, the Serious Crime Review Team were charged with re-investigating the case, after it was discovered the original investigation omitted key witnesses, lost all the forensic evidence, and didn’t process the scene fully.
Chief Superintendent Christopher Mangan was the head of the Team at the time, and he talks about the experience of trying to uncover new evidence, and the legal barriers he faced when interviewing witnesses. Nobody can be forced to speak to a Garda about a statement, unless under oath, so he couldn’t glean any new information. He speaks about the inadequate original investigation and how unacceptable it is to lose forensic evidence. He also dispels some rumours, but concedes that unless someone comes forward to reveal what really happened that night, the conclusion can only be that Richard Flynn was involved in the murder (his words) of Fr. Niall Molloy. He holds everyone who was there that night, who did nothing while Fr. Niall was dying, to be culpable.
The Molloy Family’s only hope is for new evidence or a Commission of Investigation, but there is no appetite from the authorities to do that.
Production Company: Flawless Films