**The search for her son has been upgraded to a full murder investigation with extensive searches being carried out in her home town. But the mum of missing Kyran Durnin had nothing to say about the case when she was approached on the street in the English town she now calls home.**
Dayla Durnin has said nothing - and has not been pictured - since Gardai commenced a full murder probe in October. The 24-year-old has been living quietly in Ipswhich, where she was approached by reporters from the Irish Mirror over the weekend.
The Mirror's exclusive photographs of the 24-year-old, which were taken on Saturday, are the first time she has been pictured since the search for her son was upgraded to a murder probe. Kyran, who was six years old when he was last seen in June 2022, is missing and presumed dead.
A major Garda investigation has been underway since October in a bid to find out what happened to the little schoolboy, with dozens of officers working to discover his whereabouts and establish the facts around his disappearance.
On Saturday, reporters from the Irish Mirror approached Kyran’s mum Dayla, 24, in the town of Ipswich, where she was in the company of a male companion. The man has no connection to the investigation into Kyran’s disappearance.
It's understood Dayla moved to Ipswich at the end of August when she and little Kyran were officially reported missing. Shortly afterwards, gardaí in Drogheda upgraded Kyran’s disappearance to a murder investigation.
When spotted over the weekend, Dayla, was wearing a white body warmer, grey top, and green trousers, strolling through the town of Ipswich hand-in-hand with her male friend.
She blended in with all the Saturday afternoon shoppers, as well as Ipswich and Newcastle fans who were heading to Ipswich Town Football Club stadium for the 3pm kick-off against the Magpies in the Premier League.
The Irish Mirror reports that the pair walked through the pedestrianised area of the town to the stadium on Portman Road, just on the outskirts of the town. Before entering the stadium, Dayla and the male stopped off at a mobile fast-food stand where she enjoyed a burger and chatted to other people.
As they strolled towards the entrance of the stadium for the match, a reporter from the Irish Mirror approached Dayla to ask her if she wished to speak about the search for Kyran. After they identified ourselves, Dayla quickly turned away and tried to cover her face with the hood on her body warmer.
Dayla Durnin has a burger outside the football match at the Portman Road Stadium in Ipswhich (Image: HUMPHREY NEMAR)
Given the huge public interest and concern over how Kyran slipped through the net, the Irish Mirror asked Dayla if she had anything she wanted to say or any light to shed on what had happened, but she declined to answer.
Dayla told the reporter: “I’d appreciate it if you would go away from me. Thank you,” while the male in her company told us: “Leave her alone.”
When pushed again for a comment, Dayla and her companion quickly moved to the ticket queue to get inside the stadium to watch the match.
Gardaí probing the murder of missing Kyran have not ruled out making more arrests - despite the shocking death of one of the main suspects last week.
Sources say investigators are planning a fresh dig for the boy after Christmas as the search for his whereabouts continues.
Officers have already carried out searches of a number of properties in Co Louth over recent months, with two people arrested and questioned about the missing child.
One of those, Anthony Maguire, took his own life in Drogheda on Tuesday, with fears he may have taken the secrets of what happened to Kyran to his grave.
However, sources have said the investigation is still very much alive, despite that setback. A source told the Mirror: “Gardaí still have other people of interest that they believe may have information on what happened to Kyran. There is likely to be more arrests after Christmas and a fresh dig for the boy too.”
Suspect Anthony Maguire left a note at the scene – but it made no reference to the boy. Maguire was cremated at a private funeral service at Dardistown Cemetery on Saturday.
Officers probing the disappearance of Kyran, who was last seen two years ago when he was six, had been hoping Maguire might have left information on the case. But it's understood that Maguire, a convicted criminal, only mentioned other personal issues unconnected with the death of Kyran in the note.
“The hope was he would have left something about the boy, but the note made no reference to the case,” a source confirmed.
Officers believe Maguire, who was found dead at his home in Beechwood in Drogheda, was central to the alleged cover-up of Kyran’s death.
Gardaí suspect Maguire, 36, played a direct role in previously duping authorities into believing that missing Kyran was in fact alive. Sources say Maguire was suspected of having facilitated bringing a “decoy” child before authorities in Tusla, the Child and Family Agency earlier this year in an attempt to fool them into believing he was Kyran.
However, the attempt raised suspicions with authorities, who communicated concerns to gardaí.
Investigators believe Kyran was dead by that stage and that he may have been murdered up to two years ago, when he was just six years old.
It is understood that Maguire was known to Kyran but he had insisted to neighbours and friends that he had nothing to do with the boy’s disappearance.
The Tusla concerns then led to a massive Garda investigation – which resulted in the missing person case being upgraded to murder in October.
Kyran was reported missing at the end of August and gardaí spent weeks searching for any trace of him before upgrading the case to murder on October 16.
A grandmother of Kyran Durnin was reportedly recorded on tape saying she last saw the youngster alive on August 28. Rhonda Tyson said he stayed in her house in Drogheda, Co Louth with his mother, her daughter Dayla, and had been sleeping on the couch.
She reportedly said the next morning when she woke up, both the mother and child were gone and that Dayla left a note for her on the table saying she needed to get away for a few days.
Her account of seeing Kyran alive in August is totally at odds with the view of gardaí that he has been dead for the past two years.
A recorded interview was obtained by the investigative BBC Spotlight team for their programme on the case, The Lost Boy, which was screened earlier this month.
Officers are not only trying to solve the young boy’s suspected murder – but are also determined to recover his remains. A source told us: “There is a focus on getting his body back so he can be given a Christian burial.”
Detectives in Drogheda are still working 24/7 on the case – trying to uncover vital evidence about what happened to the boy and where he is. But sources conceded the death of Maguire had made an already complex case even more complicated. A source said: “It is the last thing the team needed. But the investigation will not be derailed by it.”
Maguire was arrested on Thursday, December 12, on suspicion of murder, before being released without charge the following day.
Gardaí also carried out what they termed an intrusive search at his home in Beechwood, deploying a cadaver dog, but no trace of Kyran was found.
We photographed Maguire smoking outside Drogheda Garda Station just after he was released from custody on Friday of last week. It is understood he stayed quiet during questioning and gave gardaí no clues as to what happened to little Kyran. His arrest came 24 hours after a woman had also been arrested and released without charge.
The woman, who has denied any involvement in Kyran’s disappearance, had previously implicated Maguire.
Officers are now set to probe his final movements and dealings before he took his own life on Thursday. His violent past was also of concern to officers and we revealed on Tuesday that he had received a suspended sentence in 2020 for assaulting a woman in July 2017.
And, at the age of 22, Maguire was before the courts over criminal damage at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, where he became agitated and smashed a window after having a row with his girlfriend.
Sources claim Maguire was suspected of having facilitated the use of a “decoy” child brought before authorities in Tusla, the Child and Family Agency earlier this year - in an attempt to fool them into believing the child was Kyran, who was six when he was last seen in 2022.
However, the suspected scam raised suspicions with authorities, who eventually communicated their concerns to gardaí. Detectives now believe Kyran was dead by that stage and that he may have been murdered as long ago as 2022.