A PUBLIC APPEAL has been issued for information related to the murder of baby Noleen Murphy in 1973.

On 4 April 1973, the body of a full-term baby girl was discovered in the car park that then serviced the premises of Lee’s Furniture Shop in Dun Laoghaire in Dublin.

The business has stopped operating but the car park remains between Northumberland Avenue and Anglesea Lane – parallel to George’s Street – in the Dun Laoghaire town centre.

Following a post-mortem, gardaí commenced a murder investigation.

It’s believed that baby Noleen died within 24 hours of being born. This remains a live investigation.

A 2007 inquest into the baby’s death was conducted by Dublin County Coroner’s Court, and it formally identified Cynthia Owen (nee Murphy) as her mother.

The case has been the subject of an ongoing garda investigation, and has included a review by the Serious Crime Review Team and the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

At this point, all available lines of inquiry have been exhausted, gardaí said.

No person has been brought to justice for baby Noleen’s death and gardaí today appealed to anyone who has information in relation to the murder to come forward. 

A statement said: “Gardaí continue to appeal to any person who may have previously come forward who felt they could not provide gardaí with all the information they had in relation to this matter, to contact the investigation team again.

At the time of Baby Noleen’s death, Cynthia Owens’ family home was at White’s Villas in Dalkey. Gardaí continue to appeal to any person who was residing there, or the surrounding areas, at the time of this incident who may still have information to contact gardaí.

“Anyone with information which will assist in this investigation should contact Dun Laoghaire Garda Station on 01 666 5000; anyone who wishes to provide information confidentially should contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.”