On July 11th, 1987 Antoinette Smith, 27, went with friends to see David Bowie at Slane Castle.
After the concert, Antoinette went to the La Mirage nightclub on Parnell Street with some friends. She left the club around 2.15am that night and never returned home.
She was last seen wearing a David Bowie T-shirt, dark blue denim jeans, a denim jacket and navy blue high heels.
Almost a year later, on April 3rd, 1988, her body was found in a drain next to a turf-cutters’ road on Glendoo Mountain, near the Lemass monument outside Enniskerry.
Antoinette left behind her two young daughters Lisa and Rachel, then aged seven and four.
They spoke to Crimecall about how they’re still living in grief, 30 years later, and will not rest until their mother’s killer is brought to justice.
In a candid, and heartbreaking interview, the two women opened up about their mother's murder, and how it has affected them.
“We had a stolen childhood, but, it’s like they’ve stolen some of our adulthood as well because for us it doesn’t go away,” Lisa explained, highlighting how life was hard for both daughters growing up without their beloved mother.
Lisa went on, explaining how her childhood was strange, as she and her sister were treated differently.
"You were always aware that you were different. That there was someone missing. Growing up was strange. Because you see all your friends with their Mams, and their Dads, your school plays or your football matches. We never got to experience that with our Mam. Rachel, God love her, has missed out on a hell of a lot.”
The younger of the two sisters, Rachel, also spoke about the loss of her mum, and how being so young at the time of her murder effected her: “I was four at the time. Basically I wouldn’t have much of a memory of her, but the ones I go on are what my sister’s told me.
"It’s hard growing up without her.. She’s missed so many big occasions in our lives, like big birthday celebrations like our 18th our 21st our 30th’s. Basically she’s missed so much.”
Lisa and Rachel still find it hard to cope, thirty years later.
“I’d be lying if I said we didn’t struggle. We do. Everyday. Because it’s always there, it doesn’t go away. Because the person that did it is still out there," said Lisa.
“I’m 37 now and it’s like I’ve lived my life without her. It’s crazy to think I’ve had a lifetime without my Mam. It’s heartbreaking to think that two young kids who are now adults they still have no sense of closure. To me closure is catching the person.”
Rachel explained that she will never truly feel at peace about her mum's death, until such time as her killer is caught: “It would mean a great deal to us because it would mean we can actually put her to rest, she can rest in peace. And it means we can move on.”
Gardaí are appealing directly to those who may know what happened to Antoinette.
The full interview air this evening on RTE One, an anyone with information can give it confidentially and anonymously on the Crimestoppers telephone line on 1800 25 00 25.
