Galway family make emotional appeal for information on woman missing for 32 years

Barbara Walsh was last seen by one of her daughters in 1985.

The family of a Galway woman last seen in 1985 have made a heart-wrenching plea to RTÉ Prime Time for people with information on her whereabouts to come forward. Barbara Walsh, a mother of seven, was last seen by one of her daughters lying on a couch in the family home in Rusheenamanagh, near Carna, in the Connemara Gaeltacht in the early hours of June 22, 1985. Barbara was 34 at the time. At the time of her disappearance, Barbara’s children were aged from 17 down to a nine-month-old baby. Barbara’s daughter Jacqui, who was 14 at the time of her mother’s disappearance and was the last person to see her, told Prime Time about the last time she saw her mother, 32 years ago. “I woke up, and I just went down to the kitchen,” she said. “Mum was asleep on the couch. So I tried to wake her up to see if she would go back to bed. And she didn’t, so I just put a pillow under her head and a blanket on her. When I got up in the morning she was gone.” In the hours before Barbara’s disappearance, around a dozen people had gathered in the Walsh family home for an impromptu gathering. Two Gardaí were among those to join the family in the house for tea and sandwiches, which Barbara prepared. The party ended, but just hours later, Barbara disappeared and there has been no trace of her since. On Prime Time on Tuesday night, it was outlined how a theory was initially given credence that Barbara Walsh would return home, or would be found safe elsewhere. It was a number of months after she disappeared before any publicity was given to the case. After Barbara’s disappearance, her husband MacDara continued to raise their children in the home. MacDara Walsh died in 2007. Jacqui Walsh was joined by her sister Catherine on Prime Time to appeal for people to give information. “Mum wouldn’t walk out on us, on seven kids, there’s no way,” Catherine said. “She was a proud woman, she was a good mother. And I’m sure someone does know what happened. It’s not too late for somebody to say something. It’s never too late. A complete re-investigation of the case is currently being undertaken by Gardaí, who have taken 70 witness statements as part of the review of the case. A five-day excavation of lands around Barbara’s house in 2015 failed to find any trace of her. Jacqui Walsh told RTÉ Prime Time reporter Barry Cummins there are other parts of Carna she has asked Gardaí to search. “I believe there are people still alive with direct knowledge of what happened to our mother,” she said. Prime Time also went behind the scenes of the ongoing Garda investigation, which is examining if Barbara was murdered and if so, by who. Detective Inspector Mick Coppinger said he believed the information about Barbara is very local to Carna. “Barbara’s children are still awaiting their mother to come home,” he said. “People have moved on with their lives. They cannot move on, need their mother. They need their mother back, they need to account for what happened to their mother.” Anyone with information on Barbara’s case should contact the Garda Confidential line on 1800 666 111.