‘Two years of pain and still no Gerry’

THE family of a Tallaght dad of three who has been missing for two years have made a renewed emotional appeal for help in finding him.

Gerard Daly (42), who is originally from the Knockmore area of Tallaght, had been living just outside Bailieboro in Co Cavan since 2007.

He was last seen at approximately 6pm at his home at Cornaveagh in Bailieboro on June 26, 2011.

Despite extensive searches by the gardai and desperate appeals by his family, there has been no trace of Gerard since that day.

Speaking on the anniversary of the day he vanished, his sister Belinda spoke of the devastation his disappearance has caused to his family.

“It is now exactly two years since we last saw Gerry and we are no closer to finding out what happened to him,

? she said.

“Two long years have passed and in the meantime my dear mother has passed way without any answers.

“She died in June last year of what I believe was a broken heart because she never found out what happened to her son. She left my dad and myself still wondering if we will ever find him.

?

The Garda search for Gerard was upgraded to a murder inquiry in the months after he went missing but despite searches that included a recent dig in farmland near where he vanished, there has been no trace of him.

Belinda recalled how she was torn between two opposing emotions as she watched the dig.

“I had a knot in my stomach that grew and grew as the dig went on,

? she revealed.

“On the one hand I prayed and prayed that he wasn’t there but when they didn’t find him I was gutted.

“It would have been a relief to have his body but the fact they didn’t find him gives me just a glimmer of hope that he is still alive.

?

She added:

“It’s a torment that I hope no family will ever have to go through.

?

Belinda said she was very close to her older sibling as they were only two years apart in age.

“When we were kids growing up in Tallaght we were always playing together and then, as we got older, we sought out our own friends, as you do.

“But then, in the years after that, we became very close and Gerry had his own family. He has three little kids who don’t know what happened to their daddy.

“I was only talking to someone recently about how this one thing affects so many other people.

“It has struck more than just one family.

“So, if anyone out there has any information, regardless of how small, please, please, please come forward because I believe that it could be one small detail that could unravel this horrible mystery.

?

If anyone has any information please contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666111.