Ian Bailey's family holds memorial service as ashes scattered in West Cork

The family of Ian Bailey held a memorial service in West Cork yesterday, with the ashes of the journalist and poet being spread in Roaringwater Bay.

Mr Bailey was the chief suspect for the 1996 murder of French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

Mr Bailey, 66, died in January, 2024. He was cremated at the Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy in the days following his death.

Mr Bailey was twice detained by gardaí for questioning in relation to the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier. The body of the 39-year-old French film producer was found near her holiday home in Toormore on the outskirts of Schull in West Cork on December 23, 1996.

Kay Reynolds, Mr Bailey’s only sister, said he “loved West Cork with a passion”. She said on the 96FM Opinion Line: “There was the warrant which meant he could not leave the country but he said he would not want to be anywhere else. It was very appropriate that this is where we spread his ashes. It is something he wanted.”

Ms Reynolds said her brother was “quite fit” until the last few years of his life. “It [the stress] finally got to him. He was not taking care of himself but it was all to do with the pressure.

“There were times he did not help himself,” she said. “I think if he had kept quiet it would have been better but that was not Ian’s style. He had nothing to hide and he would not hide. He confronted his challengers face-on.”

Ms Reynolds said she never for a second considered the possibility than her brother might have carried out the crime.

“As family, we never thought that he had done this. Gardaí felt there were things that only somebody involved in the crime would have known. I don’t think that helped.”

She added that her thoughts were with the family of Ms Toscan du Plantier. “This is not to forget that a very young mother was brutally murdered. I feel so sorry for the family; because of the misguided belief that Ian committed the murder, they have just had so many years of torture.”

Mr Bailey was convicted of Ms Toscan du Plantier’s murder in absentia after a trial in France in 2015. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. However, officials in France were unable to extradite Mr Bailey to Paris to serve the sentence handed down by the courts.

He unsuccessfully sued newspapers for allegedly defaming him and gardaí for allegedly trying to frame him. He also lodged a complaint with Gsoc in early 2012 into his treatment by gardaí investigating the murder. A subsequent Gsoc report indicated grave issues of concern but said there was no evidence to suggest that Mr Bailey was framed for the murder or that evidence was falsified, forged, or fabricated by members of An Garda Síochána.

The report revealed that 22 case exhibits can no longer be located. These include a blood- spattered gate taken from close to where the body was found; a wine bottle discovered in a field next to the crime scene; and a black overcoat belonging to Mr Bailey. A cold case review into Ms Toscan Du Plantier’s death is ongoing.