Local priest vividly recalls Sophie’s murder
Viewers of Jim Sheridan’s ‘Murder at the Cottage’ will recognise amongst the interviewees Fr Denis Cashman, former parish priest of Watergrasshill and Glenville.
Ms du Plantier was murdered in 1996 at her holiday home in Schull, West Cork by an unknown assailant. Her death, and the subsequent court proceedings against suspect Ian Bailey, gained widespread national and international coverage that has never truly dissipitated, and attention on the case is now renewed with the release of a podcast and two separate docuseries.
Fr Cashman, who was born in Glanmire was, in 1996, the parish priest of Goleen, near Schull. On the morning after the murder, he attended the scene with two gardai and performed the last rites for Ms du Plantier.
‘NEVER SAW ANYTHING AS SHOCKING’
Fr Cashman was interviewed by director Jim Sheridan for his new 5-part documentary, ‘Murder at the Cottage’. Witnesses to the scene in the rural part of the county were unanimous in their shock at the brutality of the crime, and Fr Cashman recounts the morning of the discovery of Sophie’s body.
“I had never met Sophie before. Being a priest, the guards informed me and asked for me to go to the scene and to say the prayers. And I had attended a couple of murder scenes in London, but just never saw anything as brutal and as shocking and as horrific. I was shocked. There was a brick, a concrete block, at her head and obviously it had crushed her skull, and her beautiful face, to me, still was very, very clear”
“So I simply prayed.
The guards joined in on the prayers as they were being said. It was only the three of us and there was nobody else around at that time.”
Fr Cashman served as Parish Priest of Watergrasshill and Glenville, retiring in 2013.
‘THE STORY HAS JUST NOT GONE AWAY’
This December will be the 25th anniversary of the crime, and both public and media interest in the case shows no sign of abating. Journalist Ralph Riegel, a native of Kilworth who has covered the case closely since 1996, believes that it is in the interest of Sophie’s family to not let the matter lie.
“Does the ongoing media attention help? I think the family believe it will. They hope that this constant exposure will shake free some ‘piece’ that will help the Gardai; it might make someone come forward. It’s important for them that Sophie is not forgotten. They believe the culprit has already been convicted - they (the family) are not looking for another suspect”.
Mr Riegel published a book on the subject in June 2020, ‘ A Dream of Death’, and recounts how he remembers covering the case in 1997, and how it continues today.
“It’s astonishing - since 1996 the story has just not gone away. Just when you think you get to the end of the road, something else happens. It is one of the most notorious unsolved cases in Irish history, and then there have been so many controversies, and issues, it has given it a notoriety.”
“You’d love to see closure, especially for the family, but I don’t see the publicity ending anytime soon”.