GARDAÍ ARE appealing for help in identifying a man whose body was found in Co. Meath 30 years ago.
The man is believed to have been between the ages of 45 and 55 when his remains were found on 18 April 1991.
Gardaí also believe that he had been sleeping rough in the area, and that he is from either Ireland or the UK, but investigators are "keeping an open mind on this."
His death was not treated as suspicious at the time, and gardaí did not suspect foul play, but due to a lack of personal identification on the man he identity has so far eluded investigators.
Local enquiries yielded potential sightings of the man in a pub in Ratoath the night before. Some locals recalled meeting a man with a Liverpool accent while others thought he may have been Scottish or Irish.
There was a lack of firm leads on the case and his remains were laid to rest in St Mary's cemetary in Navan.
Following an exhumation this year, the remains underwent forensic testing in the hope that advances in forensic science could now help identify him, but an adequate DNA profile could not be generated.
Along with the fresh appeal, artist Lynn Kennedy has created a portrait of the man which was aired on Monday evening's Crimecall on RTÉ One.
He was described as being 1.6m (5'5") in height and of medium build. He had brown eyes and light, balding, brown hair that was greying on the sides.
When he died was wearing a grey, Herringbone tweed jacket, labelled ‘Taldy Madrid’, a white shirt labelled ‘Luigi Rossi’, grey trousers and very worn, black, zip-up boots in a size eight.
Gardaí are now hoping that the new portrait of the deceased will help to finally identify him so that they can restore his name to him and let his family know where he came to rest.
They have stressed that this is not a criminal investigation, and are appealing to anyone information to contact Trim Garda Station on 046 9481540 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
