The mother of a young Dubliner who was killed after being hit by a car in Tallaght five years ago has issued a heartbreaking appeal for justice ahead of his 37th birthday.
Stephen Lynch, 31, was knocked down by a car in the Brookview Close estate in Tallaght on April 13, 2017. Investigators believe the father of three, who was not involved in criminality, was killed after he asked the occupants of a Ford Focus to slow down as children were playing nearby.
The suspected driver of the Ford Focus was with another man in the car and they are yet to face any charges over the horrific incident. The pair fled on foot after the incident.
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Speaking to Dublin Live, Stephen's mum Vera described her son as "funny and gorgeous" and said she "just wants someone to be held accountable" for his death.
"Stephen was my first born child, I was 18 when I had him," Vera said. "He was a great kid.
"I kind of grew up with him a bit. He was funny, obviously gorgeous. He liked thinking he was still a kid, playing football with the kids. He was just a big kid. He was always happy."
Recounting the evening of Stephen's death, Vera said: "I had been talking to Stephen that morning regarding collecting medication for him, he had been diagnosed with epilepsy a few months before. He said he would drop up to me that evening.
"It was Holy Thursday. I was going to bingo with some friends that evening so I told him to make sure he was down by 7pm because I was leaving for bingo at 7:30pm."
Vera said that at around 7pm she was told that Stephen had been knocked down. She recalls: "Obviously I thought he had broken a leg but not for a second did I think that he was in fact gone, dead."
Vera said she was offered a lift to the place where Stephen was knocked down by someone she knew. "I was thinking, I have my own car so why do I need a lift?'" she said.
"I know the lady so I just got into the car but I noticed that she didn't say one word. I said to her, 'is my son dead?' and she didn't answer me. When I got there, it was quite clear that he was dead.
"There where a lot of people there, a lot of people saw what happened to Stephen. A lot of mothers, people he grew up with, parents. I don't get it, I just don't get it."
Stephen's 37th birthday is on Saturday and Vera is making a fresh appeal for any witnesses to come forward to help her and Stephen's family get justice for him.
"He would have been 37 on Saturday," she said. "He was excited about birthdays, just like a child would be. We're never going to have that again.
"If you could just find it in your hearts somewhere, anyone who has any information, to give us a bit of peace... Ideally I just want for someone to be held accountable. He was somebody's son, somebody's brother, somebody's uncle, he was somebody's father."
Although the DPP ruled there would be no charges in the case due to lack of evidence, the case at Tallaght Garda Station remains open. A reward is also in place for anyone with information.
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