Irish Women's Safety Concerns Raised by Plunkett Sisters

The sisters of Dublin woman Elizabeth Plunkett believe women in Ireland are \"still not safe\" almost 50 years after her murder. Kathleen Nolan and Bernie Plunkett claim nothing has been learned since their sister's murder in 1976 by Ireland's first serial killers - John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans. The Plunkett family are currently collaborating with RTÉ's seven-part podcast series Stolen Sister to raise awareness around Elizabeth Plunkett's case.

Calling for stricter rules on bail conditions, Ms Plunkett said: \"We're going on to 50 years, next year, 76 to 2026. How many women have been murdered in the meantime?\" She added: \"This is still happening all these years later. So, if anything, we want to draw attention to the fact women are not safe.\" Shaw and Evans were on £40 bail at the time of Elizabeth Plunkett's and later Mayo woman Mary Duffy's murder.

\"If they had held on to them at that time, our Elizabeth would be still alive and so would Mary Duffy,\" Ms Plunkett said. \"But no, they obviously didn't take that seriously enough that two lives had to be lost.\" Elizabeth, Bernie and Kathleen with their niece Tara. Both men were from the north of England and were arrested in Ireland before the murders for burglary, and had a year-long stay in Irish prisons in Limerick and Mountjoy.

When they murdered Elizabeth Plunkett and Mary Duffy, they were awaiting an extradition hearing back to the UK to face rape and sexual assault charges. Ms Nolan said too much time elapses between missing persons and murder investigations. She believes an elite team should be sent in promptly after a person goes missing \"because they're losing too much information\". The women mention the cases of Annie McCarrick and Tina Satchwell as examples of cases where there have been serious questions surrounding investigations.

Originally Shaw and Evans were charged with the murder, rape and false imprisonment of Elizabeth Plunkett and Mary Duffy. However, when Shaw applied for parole in 2023, it was revealed he had never been convicted for Elizabeth Plunkett's murder despite previous reports. The family also discovered that the State did not hold an inquest into the death of Elizabeth Plunkett, nor ever issued a death certificate in her name. Evans died in 2012.

According to Ms Plunkett, the shock she felt following the revelation from the Parole Board was \"like getting slapped in the face\". Her sisters described Elizabeth Plunkett as a social, fun-loving and independent young woman with big ambitions for her future. The collaboration between the family and the Stolen Sister podcast led to an inquest being held into Elizabeth Plunkett's death earlier this year.

Ms Plunkett said the family hope new information gathered during the podcast, which to date includes 11 new witness statements, will also lead to a retrial. These statements include accounts from women who said they were approached by men they identified as Shaw and Evans. In late May, the family's solicitor James MacGuill SC wrote to the DPP, the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice requesting a cold case review into her death and a renewed public appeal for evidence.

Aside from an acknowledgement of receipt from the Minister, no further contact has been made. RTÉ's Documentary On One wrote to the Minister for Justice on 7 March looking for any records relating to Elizabeth Plunkett. They responded 16 weeks later and are still looking for the records. In a statement, the minister extended his \"deepest condolences\" to the family of Elizabeth Plunkett for her tragic death.

The statement read: \"While the minister is very much conscious of the case of Ms Plunkett, he is mindful that a number of matters referred to are under the remit of bodies who are independent in the performance of their functions. The Department has undertaken a preliminary search of records to identify what is held on file related to this matter. Work is ongoing to retrieve and review records on file. When this is complete, the Department will be able to consider the request related to the release of these records.\" Ms Plunkett said authorities did not have the same access to information gathering nearly 50 years ago, but that excuse is no longer valid in today's world.

\"Their investigations were kind of notebook and pen, you know, whereas it's not like that today. And still, the cases are happening,\" she said. The sisters described Elizabeth Plunkett as a social, fun-loving and independent young woman with big ambitions for her future. \"We used to say she's full of notions. Because she wasn't going to just be in Ringsend, and a housewife. She wanted to be big time and style and fashion and go somewhere...\" said Ms Plunkett. While taking part in the Stolen Sister podcast has been difficult for the sisters, Ms Plunkett said they are \"prepared to take the punches to get the justice we want\".

If anyone has any information on John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans, the Plunkett family have asked that you contact the podcast makers through [email protected].