introduced her to
John, who he knew from working with motorbikes, fixing them up. Fiona and John hit it off immediately. They started going out in October 1993, they went on a date to Birr, and the relationship
continued up to the time Fiona vanished almost three years later.
After Mark’s death there were nights when Fiona could be found at his grave in Durrow, just outside Tullamore. It was in Durrow that Mark and Gillian were to be married. As Fiona spoke to
her brother at his graveside she promised she would be a great aunt and would always look out for Dean, now that Mark was gone.
The sitting-room in the Pender home in Tullamore is cosy and welcoming. The room is dominated by photographs and paintings. Most of the photographs are of Fiona, who modelled
for magazines. The four paintings are by Seán Pender, a talented artist. There are two landscapes and a painting of boats tied up by a snowy pier; the fourth is an adaptation of the Mona
Lisa. They were mostly painted in 1998—two years after Fiona’s disappearance, and two years before Seán would end his own life.
It was in this room that Fiona Pender sat with her mother and father on the afternoon of Thursday 22 August 1996. While they were still suffering the loss of Mark, there was a lot to look
forward to. Mark’s son, Dean, was three years old. He and Gillian were living close by, and the Penders could visit Dean whenever they wanted. Now Dean would have a new cousin, and
Seán and Josephine would have a second grandchild.
Fiona’s baby was due on 22 October 1996. There was great excitement. If it was a girl, Fiona said she was going to call it Emma, or perhaps Laura. If she had a boy she said she’d
know immediately whether or not to call him Mark. The future looked bright. It would be a bit of a strain to find a new house or flat for herself and John and the baby; but the baby appeared to be
perfectly healthy, and that was the main thing. Fiona had been through a scare in the first three months: she was told she was in danger of having a miscarriage. But she came through it.
As Josephine and myself sat in the room that had held such excitement in August 1996, she recounted, with clarity, what was to be the last day she would spend with her only
daughter.
Well, we sat here after coming back from the Bridge Centre earlier that day. It had been raining, but it eased off a bit. We had a chat and a laugh here, and we had a bit of
lunch. Seán was getting ready to go off fishing. I said to Fiona that I needed to get a new pair of trousers for John; school was starting back in a couple of weeks. Fiona said she could
get a few more things for the baby as well, so we decided to head back up to the Bridge Shopping Centre. I remember clearly I bought the baby a little grey track suit, and we got Fiona a pair
of shoes that she’d be able to wear after the baby was born. And Fiona got some things for the baby: she got nappy wipes, and gripe water, and Sudocrem. Those things were still in the bag
unpacked when gardaí later searched her flat. My son John joined us, and the three of us walked Fiona back to her flat at Church Street. We walked into the flat with her. It was around
seven o’clock. I gave her a kiss. I remember clearly, as myself and John walked across the road I waved back at her. And that’s the last memory I have of Fiona: her little face at
the door.
The flat in Church Street where Fiona Pender was last seen is in the centre of Tullamore. It’s a three-minute walk to the Garda station, and the Bridge Shopping Centre is
even closer. The flat is on the ground floor of a large converted building that houses twelve self-contained bed-sitters. Standing at the front door you can see that there are only two routes that
Fiona and her killer could have taken. Coming out of the flat, turning left brings you towards the town centre, while turning right brings you to a roundabout that leads on to the roads towards
Port Laoise and
John, who he knew from working with motorbikes, fixing them up. Fiona and John hit it off immediately. They started going out in October 1993, they went on a date to Birr, and the relationship
continued up to the time Fiona vanished almost three years later.
After Mark’s death there were nights when Fiona could be found at his grave in Durrow, just outside Tullamore. It was in Durrow that Mark and Gillian were to be married. As Fiona spoke to
her brother at his graveside she promised she would be a great aunt and would always look out for Dean, now that Mark was gone.
The sitting-room in the Pender home in Tullamore is cosy and welcoming. The room is dominated by photographs and paintings. Most of the photographs are of Fiona, who modelled
for magazines. The four paintings are by Seán Pender, a talented artist. There are two landscapes and a painting of boats tied up by a snowy pier; the fourth is an adaptation of the Mona
Lisa. They were mostly painted in 1998—two years after Fiona’s disappearance, and two years before Seán would end his own life.
It was in this room that Fiona Pender sat with her mother and father on the afternoon of Thursday 22 August 1996. While they were still suffering the loss of Mark, there was a lot to look
forward to. Mark’s son, Dean, was three years old. He and Gillian were living close by, and the Penders could visit Dean whenever they wanted. Now Dean would have a new cousin, and
Seán and Josephine would have a second grandchild.
Fiona’s baby was due on 22 October 1996. There was great excitement. If it was a girl, Fiona said she was going to call it Emma, or perhaps Laura. If she had a boy she said she’d
know immediately whether or not to call him Mark. The future looked bright. It would be a bit of a strain to find a new house or flat for herself and John and the baby; but the baby appeared to be
perfectly healthy, and that was the main thing. Fiona had been through a scare in the first three months: she was told she was in danger of having a miscarriage. But she came through it.
As Josephine and myself sat in the room that had held such excitement in August 1996, she recounted, with clarity, what was to be the last day she would spend with her only
daughter.
Well, we sat here after coming back from the Bridge Centre earlier that day. It had been raining, but it eased off a bit. We had a chat and a laugh here, and we had a bit of
lunch. Seán was getting ready to go off fishing. I said to Fiona that I needed to get a new pair of trousers for John; school was starting back in a couple of weeks. Fiona said she could
get a few more things for the baby as well, so we decided to head back up to the Bridge Shopping Centre. I remember clearly I bought the baby a little grey track suit, and we got Fiona a pair
of shoes that she’d be able to wear after the baby was born. And Fiona got some things for the baby: she got nappy wipes, and gripe water, and Sudocrem. Those things were still in the bag
unpacked when gardaí later searched her flat. My son John joined us, and the three of us walked Fiona back to her flat at Church Street. We walked into the flat with her. It was around
seven o’clock. I gave her a kiss. I remember clearly, as myself and John walked across the road I waved back at her. And that’s the last memory I have of Fiona: her little face at
the door.
The flat in Church Street where Fiona Pender was last seen is in the centre of Tullamore. It’s a three-minute walk to the Garda station, and the Bridge Shopping Centre is
even closer. The flat is on the ground floor of a large converted building that houses twelve self-contained bed-sitters. Standing at the front door you can see that there are only two routes that
Fiona and her killer could have taken. Coming out of the flat, turning left brings you towards the town centre, while turning right brings you to a roundabout that leads on to the roads towards
Port Laoise and
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