Cork man’s body found 34 years after disappearance

The body of Patrick “Patsy” O’Sullivan, who vanished in April 1992, was identified on 7 August, more than three decades after he was last seen in Lombardstown, Mallow, Co Cork.

His brother, Jerry O’Sullivan, said a Garda, PJ Roche, called to inform him that the missing person had been found deceased, describing the news as “a hard pill to swallow.” The family had received regular updates from the Gardaí over the years, but previous DNA testing on unidentified remains had been negative.

Jerry believes his brother, a gay man, left Ireland seeking a better life and later changed his name to Patrick Aldridge in 1995, adopting the surname of his partner who died in 2022. A woman who cared for Patrick in London discovered the name change paperwork and, after his death, paid for his cremation and arranged for his ashes to be scattered with his partner’s at a location they frequented.

The woman also attempted to locate the O’Sullivan family in 2024, posting an online appeal that went unnoticed until now. Jerry plans to travel to the UK in November to meet neighbours and the woman who looked after his brother, and intends to create a memory box and a headstone in his honour back in Cork.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Luciann Photography / Pexels.