Skull discovered in helmet in Kerry attic
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A skull in a helmet has been recovered in the attic of a Kerry home, according to a database of historical remains across the country published by the Department of Justice.
The skull is believed to date back to the mid-18th century, and its gender is not known.
It is included in a database of 13 unidentified remains from more than 100 years ago. Also on the database is a jaw bone discovered in Wexford which is believed to date back to medieval times — and possibly earlier.
Skeletal remains found at Abbeytrinity in Tuam, Co Galway, have been dated back to the 16th century by an archaeologist who believes the person died of natural causes before being buried “in a Christian manner at the abbey of Holy Trinity,” details the database.
The remains of three people believed to have died over 100 years ago and discovered during works at Moycarkey cemetery in Tipperary included an infant who is thought to have died in the mid-19th century.
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Coroner for Tipperary, Joseph Kelly, said that another of the remains is believed to have originated before the 16th century. He added: “There was an unknown date of death for the other one -carbon tracing could not determine that.”
The remains of five people believed to have died within the last 70 years were also discovered in the cemetery during the same works, carried out in August 2020. A pacemaker, shroud, and plastic rosary beads were also found with one of the remains.
He said: “This is an old graveyard. There is no issue other than that bones were discovered and there may have been a breakdown in graves over the years.”
He added that gardaí notified him of the discovery in August 2020, at which point he enlisted a forensic anthropologist to carry out an examination of the remains.
While DNA profiling has not been carried out on any of the 13 remains dating longer than 100 years, such profiling will be conducted on remains from the past seven decades if it has not already been carried out.
The details of the 44 remains from the last seventy years have been inputted into a new database by the Department of Justice. The information includes the location and date of discovery, and any distinctive aspects such as clothing or tattoos in hope that relatives can be identified. Among the remains is a man whose body was found off the Wexford coast, close to the site of the 1968 Tuskar Rock air crash.
The data has been collated with statistics forwarded to the department from each coroner relating to unidentified remains in their districts.
Mr Kelly said that coroners welcome the publication of the database.
He added: “If any of the detail were to assist in the identification of any deceased person, it will have been worthwhile.”
According to gardaí, there are currently 856 persons reported as missing across the country. It is hoped that collating the data regarding unidentified remains across the country could help result in the closing of some missing persons cases.
International police forces have been contacted in efforts to identify some of the remains — including a person whose partial remains were found in a fisherman’s net, having been taken from the sea off Mizen Head in 2017.
In Galway, the remains of a man who had German coins in a rucksack containing his possessions were discovered in a bog in Spiddal in 1995.