Ian Bailey cremated behind closed doors at Bantry ceremony
File on Sophie murder will still be sent to DPP, despite suspect’s death
His ashes will be shipped to UK ‘Always avoided telling truth’
IAN Bailey was cremated in Bantry, Co. Cork, yesterday following a private ceremony which was kept quiet to avoid further publicity.
The former journalist, 66, who was the chief suspect in the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, died on Sunday after collapsing on Barrack Street, Bantry.
His remains had been held in the morgue at Bantry General Hospital as Bailey’s long-time solicitor, Frank Buttimer, made contact with his only sister and next-of-kin, Kay Reynolds, who lives in the UK.
Sources have said the Garda investigation into the murder will still result in a file being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions despite the death of Bailey.
It’s understood Ms Reynolds requested her brother’s ashes be sent to her in England following a cremation in West Cork.
She also expressed concern about the widespread media attention surrounding Bailey’s death and was cautious about publicly announcing details of the ceremony. As a result, no death notice was posted on RIP.ie.
The arrangements were made by an undertaker from outside West Cork, and yesterday morning Bailey’s remains were transported 100km to the Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy.
Mr Buttimer, who did not attend the cremation, issued a statement to the Irish Daily Mail following the ceremony yesterday.
‘I am authorised to confirm by the next of kin that the remains of the late Ian Bailey were cremated at a private event which occurred earlier this morning,’ he said.
‘No further statement will be made by the late Mr Bailey’s next of kin in this regard.’
It’s expected that Bailey’s ashes will be ready to be shipped to the UK over the next few days, where a private funeral will take place. It has been reported the self-published poet, who had been due to turn 67 this Saturday, died without a will.
In 2015, Ms Reynolds appeared before the High Court during a civil action by Bailey against the Garda Commissioner and State arising from the conduct of the investigation into the murder of Ms
Court: Bailey with sister Kay Reynolds in 2015. Left, Sophie Toscan du Plantier. At the time, she said her brother could not even attend his mother Brenda’s funeral in 2013 as he feared that the UK would extradite him to France. She said he was her only sibling, that they were very close and that he had a ‘very sweet, tender’ relationship with their mother. Ms Reynolds said she was ‘very, very scared’ for her brother when she learned France had issued a European arrest warrant seeking his surrender in connection with the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier. She felt that it was ‘unjust’. On Monday, Jules Thomas, the ex-partner of Bailey, said she wasn’t surprised by his sudden death. ‘He had had a heart attack and then a double heart attack and they couldn’t operate because they knew his heart was too bad so it was on the cards to happen quite soon,’ she said.
‘I just didn’t have any feelings for him at the end, that’s why I got him out [of her house]. He was impossible to live with.’
Bailey was convicted of assaulting Ms Thomas in 2001 and received a three-month suspended sentence. However, she still firmly believes he had nothing to do with Ms Toscan du Plantier’s murder.
She said: ‘I know he didn’t do it, he is such a messy person, there would be blood everywhere, and also, he could never keep a secret. He was just one of those people who talked and talked.
‘He would never, ever have done something like that for a story or any other reason.’ Meanwhile, a campaign group set up by the family of French filmmaker Ms Toscan du Plantier has said their fight for justice will continue.
ASSOPH, the Association for the Truth About the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, stated: ‘The Paris Criminal Court sentenced him [Ian Bailey] in absentia on May 31, 2019, to 25 years in prison for murder.
‘Despite this trial and France’s repeated requests for his extradition, Ian Bailey remained free, never facing charges from the Irish justice system.
‘Throughout these years, Ian Bailey refused to answer the questions of French investigators, entangling himself in lies and contradictions. Provoking and taunting the police, the judiciary, and the media, Ian
Bailey always avoided telling the truth about this murder, of which, beyond any reasonable doubt, he knew every detail.
‘Irish judicial authorities never wanted to charge him or extradite him to France, in disregard of European commitments based on the principle of mutual trust between states, which Ireland signed and ratified.’
The group added that following Bailey’s death, Ms Toscan du Plantier’s family will never be able to obtain a confession from him.
‘We continue our efforts for truth and justice,’ the association stated. ‘An investigation is under way in Ireland, and we are confident that the discovery of new elements, the hearing of new witnesses, and the revelation of possible complicity will enable Irish police to close the case, 27 years after the murder.’
Mr Bailey was a native of Manchester but spent his early years in Stockport where his father, Kenneth, was a craft butcher.
He moved to Ireland in the early 1990s after becoming disillusioned with his journalism career.
ian.begley@dailymail.ie