Laurence "Larry" Griffin (1880 – 25 December 1929) was an Irish postman who disappeared from the village of Stradbally, County Waterford on Christmas Day 1929. Investigators concluded that Griffin visited a local pub after work where he was injured in a drunken altercation; he either died immediately from his injury or shortly afterwards in the adjacent Garda station. His body was then allegedly disposed of in order to hide the fact that the pub was illegally serving alcohol on Christmas Day, a fact which would have threatened the livelihoods of both the publican and several members of the local police force who were supposedly drinking there. This version of events has never been proven, and continues to be vehemently denied by the families of the accused.
The investigation into Griffin's disappearance was hampered by conflicting witness statements and a lack of evidence. Investigators eventually arrested and charged several Stradbally residents, but the prosecution's case fell apart in court when the key witness, Jim Fitzgerald, changed his testimony. All charges were subsequently dropped and the case officially remains unsolved. Fitzgerald later claimed that he had changed his testimony under duress from the villagers, and reiterated that they had been involved in Griffin's disappearance. Several Gardaí who worked on the case have also expressed their certainty of the villagers' guilt. Despite extensive searching, Griffin's body has never been found.
Many of the accused later took successful legal action against both the Gardaí and local newspapers. The disappearance remains a contentious issue in Stradbally, where visitors and journalists have been verbally abused and threatened with litigation for asking about it. In 2009, all files from the original investigation were made public.
Larry Griffin Laurence "Larry" Griffin was born in Waterford, Ireland in 1880. He was a bombardier in the Artillery Regiment of the British Army from 1899 until 1907, serving in British India. He married Mary Fitzgerald in 1907.
Griffin re-joined the army at the start of World War I, and was discharged on 3 June 1916 due to injuries – his arm was permanently damaged, part of his ear was missing, and he lost several of his teeth. For his service, he was awarded both the British War Medal and the Victory Medal in 1918.War Office and Air Ministry: Service Medal and Award Rolls, First World War. WO329. The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey, England
After his discharge, Griffin got a job as a postman. In 1929, he and his wife and two of his three surviving children were living in Kilmacthomas, a small town in the south east of Ireland. His postal round covered the village of Stradbally which was about 8 miles away from Kilmacthomas.
Disappearance
On 25 December 1929, Griffin attended church, delivered presents to a neighbour's children, and set off at about noon on his Post Office issue bicycle to deliver the post in Stradbally. Local tradition called for residents to offer both money and hospitality to the postman on Christmas Day. As a result, Larry was invited to dinner in two of the households he called on and was given alcohol in many of the others. When he finished his deliveries, he called into the Post Office as normal. Griffin did not return home that night. His wife, Mary, guessed that he may have had too much to drink and decided to sleep at a friend's house, rather than risk cycling home drunk.
At 7:30am the next morning, a local man walking along the road between Stradbally and Kilmacthomas discovered a postman's bicycle lying on the road, pointing toward Kilmacthomas. It appeared to have been carefully positioned there. There was no sign of Griffin.
Search The search commenced on 26 December. The Gardaí were quickly informed of Griffin's disappearance, and a search party consisting of Gardaí from several neighbouring towns and over one hundred civilians (including postmen from Kilmacthomas) was formed. The postmen noticed that Griffin's empty bag, waterproof cover, overalls, and cape were strapped to the carrier of his bike in an unusual manner that postmen would generally avoid.
The countryside between Kilmacthomas and Stradbally, particularly the marshlands on either side of the road where the bike had been found, were searched extensively. It was initially assumed that Griffin had wandered off the road and fallen into one of the deep holes in the adjacent bog. Despite the extensive searches, nothing was found.
Investigation
Foul play Griffin's disappearance was reported to Chief Superintendent Harry O'Mara from Waterford on 27 December. O'Mara traveled to Stradbally and questioned the local Gardaí – Sergeant Cullinane and Gardaí Dullea, Frawley, Murphy and Sullivan. All five claimed that Griffin was sober when they had seen him. However, other villagers reported that he was "a bit jolly" and "intoxicated".
O'Mara established that Larry had not called in to collect the post at any locations between Stradbally and the point where his bicycle was found, even though these were part of his normal route. Another local man reported that he had been on the Stradbally to Kilmacthomas road at 4am on 26 December and had not seen the bicycle there at that time. O'Mara now suspected foul play.
Conflicting statements On 6 January 1930, Father O'Shea, a priest from a neighbouring village, told O'Mara that the Gardaí in Stradbally were concealing what had really happened, and that he should question the sixteen-year-old John Power. O'Mara interviewed Power the following day. Power had been standing outside the window of a local pub, Whelan's, with three other men for some time on the evening of 25 December, and they had seen Griffin and Garda Dullea outside the post office at 6:30pm. Dullea was pushing Griffin's bicycle, and Griffin appeared drunk and was retching. The two rounded a corner and neither returned within the next hour, at which point Power's group disbanded. Power's account was confirmed by the three men he was with.
Consequently, Dullea was interviewed again. He admitted to this meeting with Griffin, and claimed he had walked with him for approximately fifty yards along the Kilmacthomas road. He reiterated that Griffin was not drunk. When asked why he had not reported this before, he said he did not think it was of any importance. Dullea claimed that after leaving Larry, he returned to the centre of the village to meet up with Cissie Whelan (daughter of the Whelan's publican), and that they walked to Stradbally Cove, not returning until 10pm. This contradicted the statements given by John Power and his friends, who claimed that Dullea did not return. Despite this, Cissie Whelan backed up Dullea's claims.
At the time of Griffin's disappearance, it was illegal for pubs in Ireland to serve alcohol on either Christmas Day or Good Friday. O'Mara suspected that Dullea's conflicting statement may have been an attempt to cover up illegal drinking. Throughout January, O'Mara pieced together the events of Christmas Day, from both new witnesses and more detailed statements from existing witnesses. Shortly after 6pm, a clearly drunk Larry Griffin called into Garda Frawley's flat, accompanied by Garda Dullea. There, they had imbibed more alcohol. The three of them then went outside, where the Gardaí decided that Larry was too drunk to cycle home. Frawley went into Whelan's to see if they would put him up for the night, but realising that he had been followed in by Sergeant Cullinane (who was ensuring the premises was not serving alcohol), he left again. Garda Dullea then led Larry round the corner (passing John Power and his friends), and the two of them entered Whelan's by the back gate. None of the Gardaí had provided any of this information when they were first questioned.
O'Mara turned his attention to the Stradbally Gardaí. He found that entries in the Garda barracks diary had been altered, and that many of the patrols which were recorded there had not actually been made. This, coupled with the conflicting stories convinced O'Mara that the Gardaí were involved in Griffin's disappearance. He reported this to Eoin O'Duffy, the Chief Commissioner of the Garda Síochána. He also reported that Gardaí Dullea and Murphy were "influencing the people to make false statements and are visiting those from whom statements have been made to ascertain what they have said." By the end of January, all the Stradbally Gardaí had been moved to Dublin and suspended from duty on half-pay. A warrant was obtained to allow interception of their letters, as O'Mara believed that they would contact each other about the case.
Whelan's pub
Further contradictions soon arose. Two Kilmacthomas villagers claimed that Patrick Whelan, the publican of Whelan's, told them that Larry had been in the pub on Christmas night. Whelan later told Griffin's wife and the Gardaí the exact opposite – not only had Larry not been in the pub, but nobody had visited the pub on Christmas Day. A further two villagers claimed that they had been drinking in Whelan's on Christmas night. They also said they had seen Cissie Whelan in the pub that evening, further contradicting Garda Dullea's statement. However, neither of them had seen Larry there as they had stayed in the kitchen, and not in the lounge area.
On 23 January 1930 two local men were interviewed at the Garda station: Jim Fitzgerald and Thomas Corbett, both labourers. Fitzgerald's testimony painted the first clear picture of what became of Larry Griffin. On Christmas Day, Fitzgerald, Corbett, and two others entered Whelan's by the back gate. They went into the kitchen and were served drinks by Cissie Whelan. Upon hearing singing in the bar, Fitzgerald went out to the yard, looked through the bar window, and saw Gardaí Dullea and Murphy, Cissie Whelan, and several others inside. He entered the bar. At some point, some money fell out of Griffin's pocket. It was picked up by Ned Morrissey, who decided to keep it for himself. When Griffin demanded his money back, Morrissey purposely tripped Griffin, who fell and hit his head on a stove. The blow killed him.
Whelan feared that Griffin's death would ruin him and his business. Morrissey suggested that they dispose of Larry's body and cover up his death. According to Fitzgerald, Gardaí Dullea and Murphy, all the Whelan family, Thomas Cashin, headteacher of a local national school, and four other people (Ned Dunphy, Jack Galvin, and George and Patrick Cummins) were privy to this conversation. Cashin, Morrissey, George Cummins, and Patrick Whelan put Griffin's body in Cashin's car, which was the only car in the village, and drove away. Dullea and Murphy took Larry's bicycle, saying they would leave it on the Five Cross Road somewhere. Fitzgerald did not know where they eventually disposed of the body, but thought that they planned to drop it down a mine shaft.
Fitzgerald's statement was denied by everyone he had claimed was in the bar. Fitzgerald later asked to remain with the Gardaí as he was afraid to go home. He was taken into protective custody in Waterford.
While Corbett agreed that he and Fitzgerald had gone to Whelan's on Christmas Day, he told a completely different story about what had happened after that. He said that they had not been admitted to Whelan's, and had instead gone to O'Reilly's, another pub in the village, and then to a house known as "The Hall" to play cards, where he claimed he fought with another local man. While it was unanimously agreed that a fight had occurred at the card game, the rest of Corbett's story was only partially corroborated by other witnesses.
Gathering evidence