The Killing of Fr Niall Molloy

To even speak to the man, an initial face to face, you had to put a thousand pound cash down on the table. That's not to say he would even take your case.

The people of the town had no ability to sway the outcome one way or another. The local Gardai were quickly superseded on the case by a higher up squad.

None of the alleged conspirators; the Gardai, DPP, Judge, Church, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, rogue solicitors and the horsey set were of the town.

Richard Flynn was from Galway and moved to Clara about 5 years before the murder. It seems counter logical that clannish and backward people would take a bigshot into their hearts in such a fashion.

The impression from last night programme was that his immediate family didn't know really the profitable business he had while he was alive and he certainly was not going to divulge it to the church authorities in written form in a WILL...he seemed to keep his cards close to his chest as he would be entitled...he obviously was a excellent businessman as well as a excellent priest and wanted to live the life with benefits that a successful business can provide and he did and more luck to him

I'm not really seeing what the people of Clara are supposed to know that is such a deep dark secret?

I doubt any of them know any more than the rest of us who watched the documentary.

I listened to a podcast the producer of the show (and others) did last year. I'm not that familiar with Clara. The gist of what one contributor to the podcast said was the Kilcoursey part of Clara was very rural and whereas in 2020 there were lots of housing estates there in 1985 it was not built up. They said something to the effect that the Flynn's kept to themselves and were not particularly well known in the area. As pointed out already on this page both Richard and Therese were from Galway and moved to Clara in 1981. Now they only moved from Tober- 4 miles away but any way the suggestion is they were not that well know in Clara.

Makes sense. I'm sure the manner in which he ran rings around the judicial system in those cases put his star quality even higher and added a couple of zeros to his rates.

To the best of my knowledge it still is.

I’d say you’re not far off the mark here, it was the fact that fr Molloy was breaking up with Mrs Flynn they upset her more than the money issue

Wasn't there a documentary about Fr. Molloy's death a few years ago. I recall it being mentioned Fr. Molloy was a wealthy man with several hundred thousand in cash. I was surprised until I learned of the fine house in Roscommon he came from.This documentary did not mention such figures.

I reckon it did all happened in the bedroom as stated, Fr Molloy did after all have his own bedroom at Kilcoursey so i think it wouldn't be unusual for him to have a late night conversation with the Flynn's in their bedroom.

But with financial concerns playing on his mind i reckon Fr Molloy became very stern with them that particular night and declared he was ending all financial dealing with them, with drink taken RF was in no mood for this at that hour and ordered Fr Molloy out of the bedroom but Fr Molloy insisted on remaining to make his case, RF loses it man handles Fr Molloy out of the room and things quickly escalate to assault and ultimately murder, in the mayhem TF tries to restrain her husband (hence the tear in his pajamas) and as is struck with a flailing arm.

In the immediate aftermath RF comes up with a half baked story of what happened which TF reluctantly agrees to go along with.

*As for blood found downstairs and on the bannister well that could have come from RF's bloodied hands as he scurried about the place in a panic making late night phone calls etc

Seems that Richard Flynn was one of 7 children. 3 became doctors with 2 of them going to USA and 1 sister staying in Ireland. Elder brother Thomas inherited Flynns of Lackagh a fairly large business (employs 75 people today) and Richard took over the family land in Tubber. Not sure what 2 other brothers did. With a family, that size, where the first child must have been born c.1925 -may not have happened but it would be far less unusual than today if 1 of the siblings died before adulthood. I think some of the media reports now (and since 1985) refer to the family farm being in Tober. Stand corrected but think it was as Andrea B says in Tubber which is is about 4 miles from Kilcoursey house rather than Tober which is about 35 miles from Kilcoursey and in West Meath rather than Offaly. Not really relevant but Richard's decision to sell the farm in mid 1970s and open up motor factor shops makes more sense now when you realise he grew up as one of the ' Flynns from Lackagh'. Also coming from the family he did and allowing for what many of his siblings did a certain amount of pressure to ' do well' which also explains why the Flynns from Clara ended up as all fur coat and no knickers.

Richard's brother died in 2005 and the RIP notice mentions his then surviving siblings; don't know that Richard was the youngest of the 7 but he was the last to pass away. I have not been a Boards.ie member long enough to post the RIP links. His brother Dr Martin Flynn, moved to California, died in 2005; his sister Dr Betty O'Malley, from Westport, died in 2016.

I took "Tubber" from the Tom Flynn article.

I see however that RF was buried in Tubberclair Co. Westmeath and not even near Offaly.

A coincidence on the 'Tubber.." of burial and that of his father? Census archives not great so far.

They had one or more motor factors shops in Athlone and a cafe. Athlone is about 15 miles from Clara. After they sold Kilcoursey in 1991 they moved to Glasson, County Westmeath which is about 20 miles from Clara. Therese Flynn died in 1993 and was buried in Tubberclair. Glasson to Tubberclair is about 2.5 miles. Richard re-married and died in 2017 and was buried next to his first wife.

So the Tubber farm they owned before Kilcoursey and Tubberclair in Westmeath are different places?