BROTHERS of the late Pat Nugent are hopeful a cold case investigation will allow the name of their brother “to rest in peace once and for all”.
A fresh investigation into Patrick’s death at the end of a fortieth wedding anniversary party in the early hours of 11th February 1984 at Bunratty is currently underway.
Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee (FG) confirmed that Garda Commissioner Drew Harris instructed the cold-case review proceed, this followed the final report by retired Judge Patrick Clyne, he had been appointed by ex Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald (FG) to lead an inquiry into the initial Garda investigation and disciplinary inquiries.
Patrick’s parents Joe and Nellie had for years sought a public sworn inquiry but this was never granted. His brothers Martin and John have been contacted by the lead investigator of the cold case team in recent months.
Martin confirmed, “We have not met with them but may choose to meet with them in the future if the need presents. We do sincerely wish the investigation this time will be much more thorough compared to the original investigation in the 1980s and to let Pat and the name of Pat Nugent rest in peace once and for all”.
For almost four decades they have been looking for answers, “it is definitely half a lifetime, it will be 39 years in five months,” John noted. “How long can you keep it going, it is reopened and reinvestigated which is a positive move as far as we’re concerned,” Martin added.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, the brothers said the recommencement of an investigation is a positive step. “I’m sure there’s families up and down the country in much different cases whatever the situation was that would be delighted to have a cold case team reinvestigate their case. We’re getting it handed to us so we shouldn’t be too negative about it. We’ll see what the outcome is,” Martin stated.
John was hopeful this could lead to answers finally emerging. “We think there might be a conclusion with this case, I think there could be. There is a fresh team who might look at it a bit different. You won’t have it like before of this ‘you’re coming to get me’, they might look at like an ordinary individual and they might give it everything”.
Martin added, “It would be nice to bring it to a conclusion. There is definitely unanswered questions. With the right approach from the investigation team, they might uncover what really happened, the full fights have never emerged”.
With only three male suspects, John maintained that it was “a straightforward case to get answers to, I think in our case for the first year or two in 1984 and 1985 it should have been put to bed”.
Actions back in 1984 such as the failure to preserve the scene and the moving of Patrick’s body still frustrate the brothers, “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people, everything was wrong,” Martin said.
Nugent’s case was one of the 320 cases examined by the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) which was set up by Fitzgerald in 2014. According to Martin, this has helped the case to get “major traction”. He stated, “When the initial letter was submitted, I didn’t think we’d still be dealing with it but the wheels move very slowly, maybe they have to for a particular reason, the main thing is they are still turning and we haven’t hit the buffers yet. It would be nice to bring it to a conclusion for once and for all and put it to bed. When anyone hears the name Pat Nugent, they think of Bunratty and the Guards, people would be vaguely familiar with the case, it’s 38 years ago now, an awful lot of the younger generation wouldn’t know anything about it”.
He concluded, “It’s a sad fact, he was only 23, anytime we have to mention him it’s going back to the case and Bunratty rather than thinking about happier days, it would be nicer to think of them rather than every bloody time the 11th of February and Bunratty”.
