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"We have to hold out hope": Student now missing one week

The family and friends of Mark Casey, 19, travel to Limerick city every day to search for Offaly man who went missing on night out.

Update, March 15, 2014: Sadly, the body of Mark Casey was found in the Rhebogue area this morning at around 11.30am.

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This is Mark Casey in a photograph taken on the night he disappeared. When last seen in the early hours of Friday morning, 7 March, he was wearing these clothes. Image: The Casey family.

AN OFFALY FAMILY has appealed for any scrap of information which might help reveal what happened to student Mark Casey who went missing in Limerick a week ago.

The 19-year-old attends NUI Galway but is from Ballyinasragh, Killeigh, Tullamore, Co Offaly. He went missing on a night out in Limerick city last week, where he had gone to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

He was last seen in the early hours of last Friday morning, 7 March.

His cousin Damien Casey told TheJournal.ie that Mark’s family and “hordes of volunteers” are travelling from Offaly and Galway to search Limerick every day and back home again every evening.

Damien said:

We have to hold out hope – we’re all trying to be as proactive as possible.

It’s tough in the evenings when we are travelling back to Offaly and there have been no developments, no news.

Mark went out with friends in Limerick on Thursday, 6 March, ending up in Angel Lane nightclub on Robert Street. He left the club on his own at 1.30am, and was not wearing a jacket.

It was raining at the time and rained until around 4am that Friday morning, so the family hope that this fact – that Mark was a young man on his own, without a jacket or coat in the downpour – might trigger someone’s memory.

The family spent the days immediately after Mark went missing poring over CCTV footage from outside the nightclub and elsewhere in Limerick. By identifying him on footage at certain points across the city, they have started to piece together some of Mark’s route in those early hours of last Friday.

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Mark Casey. Image: The Casey family.

Last-known movements

Damien said: “He left the nightclub itself, went upwards through the Cornmarket area to the cathedral. There is a hospital across from the (St John’s) cathedral and there was CCTV from there.

The last sighting we had was near Griffin’s funeral home – you come to a fork in the road and Lelia Street lies to the left there.

St Lelia Street leads towards an intersection on Clare Street. If you head left on Clare Street, you end up at a tributary that feeds into the main River Shannon; if you turn right, it leads to the Dublin Road. The family believe that Mark may have intended to head towards the University of Limerick campus, which lies in the direction of the Dublin Road.

Damien added:

He was down for a friend’s birthday and unfamiliar with his surroundings when he came out onto the street. He had no phone on him at the time so we do think he was trying to make his way to the campus. He would possibly have gone out onto Clare Street that night.

Mark’s parents, John and Catherine, brothers James and Derek, and sister Shirley are “so appreciative” of the time and effort local Limerick people and groups have given to the search as they try to retrace Mark’s steps every day.

“We’ve been searching everywhere, bins and laneways… People mightn’t think that the slightest piece of information they might have would be important but it could be,” said Damien.

“If they even think they have seen a single guy with no jacket on in that rain, it was raining until around 4am, that might be something. We are directing people to ring Henry Street Garda station or any Garda station.”

Henry Street Garda station is on 061 212400.

Mark Casey is 5ft 7in tall, with light brown to blonde-coloured hair, and was wearing a dark polo-style t-shirt and grey chinos when last seen. He’s of a slim but athletic build.

The red triangles mark various locations in Limerick city where there were confirmed sightings, or where it is thought he may have passed:

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Can also view here.

Gardai appeal for help in finding missing Mark Casey>

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    Mute Larry Doherty
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 2:44 PM

    One line states: “Now, the US is free to develop weapons systems that were previously banned.” and the very next line states: “The US is planning a test flight of such a weapon in coming weeks.”

    Rather than being “years away”, it looks like the USA was out of the treaty long ago and developing new weapons all along. Typical lying USA approach to everything.

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    Mute Dominic Leleu
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 8:08 PM

    @Larry Doherty: do you really think any of them followed the rules ?

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    Mute Derek
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 2:10 PM

    The double standards are hilarious, they pulled out of the Iran deal and for 2 years of complying to the deal under more economic sanctions Iran begins further enrichment again and the US throw a hissy fit.

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    Mute George Vladisavljevic
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 3:02 PM

    Amazing how a nation of some 330 million is dictating to the rest of the planets 8 billion people what to do as well as who they are allowed to deal with.

    America first, and what about the rest?

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    Mute Jack Simpson
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 2:12 PM

    This is nothing new for the US. They have a habit of pulling out of agreements. They pulled out of the ABM treaty with Russia in the 00s.

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    Mute Bruce Van der Gutschmitzer
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 3:19 PM

    @Jack Simpson: shame Donald’s aul lad didn’t pull out

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    Mute Cormac Ó Braonáin
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 7:41 PM

    @Jack Simpson: the US’ history is breaking treaties and agreements. Even at the very start of their history, making treaties with the native Americans knowing full well they’d plan to break them. It’s part of their culture and who they are.

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    Mute Stephen Coveney
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    Aug 4th 2019, 7:08 AM

    @Cormac Ó Braonáin: while putin and russia are saints… my god cant people realise both countries are sneaky. Fact is though the media can be a check against corruption in the US while russia will just jail them

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    Mute lyndon
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 1:51 PM

    Watch “The Great Hack” on Netflix. The place is goosed.

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    Mute Larry Doherty
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 3:06 PM

    USA – the World’s bully along with its belligerent child, Israel. While not a supporter of extreme Islamics, their description of the USA as “the Great Satan” is hard to contest.

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    Mute Mark Gough
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 3:54 PM

    About time we showed the US that we will not support their bullying. Britain seems to be content with being their lap dog but there are plenty of ways to show Russia we can be friends

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    Mute GrahamMManning
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 4:23 PM

    @Mark Gough: yeah cos Russia is the lesser of two evils.

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    Mute paul
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 6:26 PM

    @Mark Gough: Britain is the US lapdog ? Britain is independent and steps in when required. Yeah sure they have got it wrong at times, but they try to do their moral duty, unlike some who prefer to remain neutral, not get involved, let someone else take the burden.

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    Mute Cormac Ó Braonáin
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 7:47 PM

    @paul: ‘when required’. Exactly! That was his point!

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    Mute paul
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 7:54 PM

    @Cormac Ó Braonáin: whats up mate ? Don’t worry yourself

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    Mute Tony Harris
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 10:08 PM

    @paul: Steos in when required! WMD???????? Lapdog.

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    Mute Micheál
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 10:38 PM

    @paul:
    A sneaking regarder of British imperialism?

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    Aug 3rd 2019, 12:49 AM

    @Micheál: British imperialism ? Get a grip , it’s 2019

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    Mute paul
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    Aug 3rd 2019, 12:50 AM

    @Tony Harris: keep your hair on tony

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    Mute Cormac Ó Braonáin
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    Aug 3rd 2019, 5:39 PM

    @paul: the projection is strong in this one.

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    Mute Stephen Coveney
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    Aug 4th 2019, 7:04 AM

    @Mark Gough: no one wants to be friends with russia. If they cant even let opposition politicians run in mayoral elections without poisoning them id prefer if they stayed away

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    Mute Colm Walsh
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 4:53 PM

    Us talking shite as per usual

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    Mute Mark walsh
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    Aug 2nd 2019, 7:07 PM

    Ah lads at least we are a natural country

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    Mute TamuMassif2019
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    Aug 4th 2019, 1:39 PM

    But Russia destroyed all of its arsenal according to that treaty than the US and Trump just wants out of that deal in order to make these weapons himself and to sell them onto other countries. Trump doesn’t want peace he wants to make and sell weapons around the world and use Nato as a way to sell weapons to NATO countries. Trump is unbelievable…

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    Mute The decline of Manchester United
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    Aug 3rd 2019, 10:05 PM

    Russia is the most dangerous threat to Western democracy. We should boycott all their goods, oh wait….

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    Mute TamuMassif2019
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    Aug 4th 2019, 1:46 PM

    @The decline of Manchester United: No it isn’t thats the spin put on by those who are threatening Russia, making out Russia is a threat is cold war bull in order to sell weapons to NATO countries who try to provoke Russia by playing their war games just beside their border. The US removed 72 legitimate governments since the end of WW2 due to business interests, the CIA trained and helped put into power Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, and with the UK helped put in Pinochet so that the US could get their hands onto their copper ore as well as helped the rise of Isil. So who is the greatest threat to the world but the US especially now as Trump has started the US MILLITARY research into Biological weapons as I guess that he will sell that knowing him as he uses Russia as a threat to sell weapons to NATO countries…

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