Posted by The only person they could be thinking of is the late Alfie Lyons. But in all my conversations with Ian, and all his conversations with his friends over the past 30-odd years, he never said he suspected Alfie Lyons (he preferred crazy conspiracy theories because he was a total drama queen). Maybe Jim Sheridan and his team have been reading my book “The Blow-In: Ian Bailey’s fight to clear his name”, or listening to Paul Dettman’s Crime Guy podcast where we discuss the Alfie Lyons theory, or indeed reading the many comments online by people who agree with me.
The Blow-In finishes shortly after Ian Bailey’s death, making it one of only a very small number of books that could be considered the whole story. Bailey now being out of the reach of Irish and French justice, civil cases, and even driving offences. His death ensured an outstanding conviction for drug driving was dropped on appeal.
The last few weeks and months of Ian Bailey’s life are poignant and touching. We learn about his last meetings with Jim Sheridan, a cancelled social engagement on New Year’s Eve 2023, and the circumstances of his death and funeral in January 2024. We also hear that the pile-on continued after his death. Bailey himself frequently used the word “bonfiring” to describe the community’s hounding of him.
I found the accounts of legal actions taken by Jules Thomas surprising. Jules had always presented as a beacon of serenity and sanity throughout her tortured years with Ian Bailey, yet we learn she is suing Netflix and even long-time ally, the solicitor Frank Buttimer, himself depicted as a patient saint battling long odds in the various documentaries. Bailey was horrified that Jules had turned against Frank Buttimer, who continued to represent Ian and helped to arrange his cremation.
At the end of this engaging book, Comiskey makes a suggestion I have not seen anywhere else: an amnesty for all witnesses. It is an unbalanced legal system that saw Bailey’s civil case for wrongful arrest time-barred, yet there is no time bar on a murder. This case has called into question all kinds of established precedent and protocol. Why do some crimes have a time limit at all?
Who Watches the Watchers? 