JUST TWO MONTHS after his 15th birthday, Gerard Morgan from Crumlin in Dublin was gunned down at the front door of his home.
That was on 26 May 1982 and now, three decades on, his family have still never seen his killer brought to justice.
Gerard is remembered by family members as a bubbly, caring and helpful teenager with big hopes for himself in his life.
The night he was killed, he was at his home on Lismore Road in Crumlin with his parents watching television. They went to bed just after midnight and at 1.30am there was a knock at the door.
Gerard went to open it and a gunman shot him twice point blank.
The 15 year old died in his parents’ arms.
It is believed his home was targeted in a row over money from a recent cash van robbery which had gone missing, though the teenager was never involved in the heist.
Gerard’s murderer was hidden by people who knew him and got out of the country shortly after the shooting.
A year later, a man called Patrick Conroy was jailed for helping to provide shelter to the killer. He did not contest the charges and received a seven year sentence for accessory after the fact of murder.
Just last year Conroy, who is a taxi driver in Dublin, was successful in his court application to keep his licence. New legislation dictates taxi drivers with serious criminal convictions can be taken off the road but the judge in Conroy’s case decided he had paid for his crime and noted he had not come to garda attention since his licence was granted 11 years ago.
A source close to the family said the boy’s mother, who is in her mid 80s now, is still hoping the “cowardly, spineless, gutless man who did this to a defenceless child” is caught.
Gardaí say the case is still open and they would appeal to anyone who knows anything to come forward.
The family hope now that time has passed that people who were living in the area who know the killer and have information about the murder would be more willing to go to gardaí.
His father died not knowing why his child was killed and he’d had to hold him in the hall while he was dying.
“How do you deal with it? You just never forget,” they said.
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