NI family’s nine unanswered questions for Gardai months after daughter found dead in canal

These are the nine questions the family of a young girl from Northern Ireland found dead in a canal in Monaghan on St Patrick’s Day say remain unanswered by An Garda Siochana.

The body of Kelly Lynch, 23, was found in the Ulster Canal on the morning of Sunday 17 March.

Almost three months after her daughter’s death, Julieanne Lynch says her family are still waiting for answers about what happened to Kelly and have raised concerns about the Garda investigation.

READ MORE: Mum ‘plagued’ by thoughts of daughter’s canal death as concerns raised over Garda investigation

READ MORE: Kelly Lynch: Tributes paid to 'bright light in all of our lives' after canal death

The investigation into Kelly’s death is now currently the subject of a Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission investigation, while preparation of an Inquest file is ongoing.

No further updates on the investigation into Kelly’s death have been issued to the media since April, and on Friday the force again refused to comment on specific questions put to them surrounding the investigation.

The family say they last saw Kelly on Wednesday 13 March and that she had gone for a night out in Monaghan on Friday 15 March. Statements given to An Garda Síochána say that Kelly had been missing from the early hours of Saturday morning, with her body discovered more than 24 hours later at around 8.30am on Sunday 17 March.

A post-mortem carried out by the State Pathologist found that the cause of Kelly’s death was drowning, but her family say that she had suffered other injuries, including broken ribs.

Here are the nine questions the family say they have not received answers to, and that An Garda Síochána have refused to answer when asked by Belfast Live.

• Why wasn’t there a police cordon in place for more than a few hours after Kelly’s body was discovered?

• Why was there only one appeal for information from the Gardai?

• Why were there people who were in Kelly’s company in the days leading up to her death not questioned until three weeks after her death?

• Why were there delays in collecting CCTV footage?

• Why was Kelly never reported missing even though no one had seen her for more than 24 hours?

• Why were the Gardai only called 42 minutes after Kelly’s body was discovered?

• Why was Kelly’s death never considered to be suspicious?

• Why has Kelly’s family not heard from their Family Liaison Officer in over seven weeks?

• Why have you, the Gardai failed to release updates with regards to the death of Miss Lynch?

While An Garda Síochána declined to answer any of the questions put to them concerning the investigation, they reiterated previous statements given to Belfast Live in March and April of this year.

A spokesperson said: “In relation to the death of a woman in Monaghan town on the 17th March 2024, a post mortem was completed by the State Pathologist. As a result of the preliminary findings and consultation with the State Pathologist, the focus of this investigation moved towards the completion of an inquest file for the coroner.

“A Family Liaison Officer was appointed at the outset of this investigation and this information has been relayed to the family of the deceased. As the preparation of the Inquest file is ongoing, no further comment is available at this time.”

A spokesperson for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission said an investigation is currently ongoing, and that it would be issuing no further update at this time.

Earlier this year Kelly’s mum Julieanne told Belfast Live she had been ‘plagued’ by thoughts about her death, which has left the family shattered.

“My mind is plagued with thoughts of Kelly's final moments, wondering if she knew she was dying, if she suffered or if there could have been anything done to save her,” Julieanne said.

“It's a never-ending cycle of self-torment. But no matter how many times I torture myself with 'what-ifs', I cannot change what has already been done.

“The loss of Kelly has shattered our entire family, leaving us all struggling to make sense of this tragedy.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.