The Irish radio industry was left reeling tonight with the news that the former boss of the pirate station Radio Dublin, Eamon Cooke, has been identified as the prime suspect in the disappearance, and possibly the death, of Philip Cairns.

The case was one of the most mysterious and controversial in recent Irish history. A young schoolboy of just 13 years of age, Philip Cairns disappeared in baffling circumstances on 23 October of 1986. Hundreds of people had seen the youngster heading home from school for lunch. No one had seen him heading back, in the opposite direction. And his schoolbag was fund abandoned in a lane close to his house.

As a result of this extraordinary set of circumstances the back garden of the family house was dug up by investigators not once but twice.

No clue emerged, however, about what might have happened to Philip. From the perspective of his family, the tragedy of his loss was compounded in the most sickening way by the fact that individual members of the tightly-knit family were under suspicion. Not a shred of evidence was found, however, that might have pointed the finger in any direction – least of all towards his siblings or parents.

And so the case remained unsolved – one of a small number of disappearances that the Gardai have been unable to explain or resolve. Until now, that is.

The family have long ago accepted the likelihood that Philip was no longer alive. To have disappeared in that way and never to have made any form of contact whatsoever seemed inconceivable. And now their worst fears seem much closer to being realised.

A woman came forward recently with new information. According to reports tonight, she explained to Gardai in Terenure that Eamon Cooke had met Philip Cairns on the day of his disappearance. Philip was known to him, according to the woman – presumably because he was a fan of Radio Dublin. Poignantly, the band names U2 and UB 40 were scrawled on the schoolbag which was dumped in the lane.

The young teenager from Rathfarnham accompanied Cooke to the station, where the apparent intention had been to give him a guided tour. The woman told Gardai that she had left the room where Eamon Cooke and Philip Cairns were. Shortly afterwards, she heard a fight or scuffle breaking out. When she returned to the room, Philip Cairns was bleeding profusely from a head wound. He had been struck, she told Gardaí, with a metal bar.

According to her account, the body was taken away by Eamon Cooke – and that was the last she saw of it.

No reasons have been given for her failure to come forward earlier about what she had witnessed. However, what we can say is that Eamon Cooke was accused of raping two young girls repeatedly between 1974 and 1978, at the radio station, and was found guilty originally in 2002 and again on a retrial in 2007, after the initial convictions had been overturned. The judgement confirmed that he was what many people in Irish radio might have suspected: a predator and a paedophile, who preyed on youngsters in the most sinister and appalling way.

In the context, that he has now been linked to the killing of Philip Cairns fits into the sordid jigsaw of his life. But the news has still shocked many, who knew and inter-acted in a completely innocent way with Cooke after Philip Cairns disappeared. However battle-hardened people might become, the thought that someone they knew and shook hands with and worked alongside was likely guilty of the killing of an innocent and defenceless young man represents a desperate shock.

The woman who has now come forward did so at a time when Eamon Cooke was still alive. Detained in prison on a 10 year sentence, he had fallen gravely ill and been moved to a hospice. However, he was compos mentis at the time, and was interviewed by the Gardaí. They have suggested that Eamon Cooke broadly confirmed details of the outline that had been given to them. However, they repeatedly asked him – if the story were true – for information as to where the body right be and he was either unable to or failed to provide that information.

That this would have meant a huge amount to the Cairns family goes without saying. After all these years, to have the mystery solved – or close to being solved – is one thing. To have had final closure by being able to bury their tragically lost son would have meant so much more. As it is, while the police are in effect indicating that the story appears to be true, as yet there is no definitive evidence such as might constitute proof. That may yet come in the form of DNA evidence from the schoolbag – which might have been returned to the spot close to his home by the person responsible for his disappearance.

Some evidence has forever been lost. The house where Radio Dublin had been based – and where the incident described by the woman took place – was demolished years ago. And there are as yet no remains that can be examined for physical evidence. In that light, the police are now looking afresh for information that might lead to a definitive conclusion regarding what happened.

However, common sense says that the truth has probably finally been told. Speculation will be inevitable as to why the woman remained silent for so long. However, that has to be seen in the context of the threat that a pedophile like Eamon Cooke represented to anyone who was close to him, and to the controlling nature of relationships that he might have had.

Certainly, the timing in itself suggests that the woman concerned wanted to try to ensure that the family did receive some kind of closure. The assumption has to be that she realised – or knew –that Eamon Cooke was about to die and decided, on the one hand that he was no longer a threat; and on the other that it would make no difference to him to be identified as the individual responsible, given how close he was to making his final exit. And so she finally felt confident or empowered enough to make a statement to the Gardaí, detailing what she knew.

Perhaps there are others out there who know other details that might enable the police to tie the facts down in a way that allows for no doubt. Until then, the search for more information goes on. But within the world of Irish radio, there seems to be no doubt tonight that one of the most gruesome imaginable mysteries of those bizarre and often lawless years has finally been solved.

Whether it was manslaughter or murder is not the point. Every instinct says that it makes sense: Captain Eamon Cook, convicted paedophile, was also a man who killed – most likely because an intended victim fought back.

It is a horrific new low in the story of Irish radio. It is appalling and deeply troubling to know that the self-styled Captain’s actions ruined the lives of an entire, innocent family. Our hearts go out to them again tonight, and to everyone else who was dragged down in any way by what appears to have happened in Kilmainham, almost thirty years ago.