SOME 28 years have passed, and the mystery, tragedy, and sadness surrounding the death of Sophie Toscan du Plantier remains as powerful as ever.
The story of Sophie’s awful murder remains as a source of enduring fascination around the world. For those who knew her, it is a source of enduring heartbreak.
Sophie’s elderly father, Georges Bouniol, died in Paris this week, days after the 28th anniversary of her death near her holiday home in Toormore on the outskirts of Schull.
Georges was 98 years old but remained in contact with friends of Sophie in West Cork.
With his wife Marguerite, he spent close to three decades seeking justice for the murder of his 39 year old daughter.
For many years, Georges and Marguerite travelled to West Cork at Christmas to attend an anniversary mass for Sophie with their son Bertrand and Sophie’s son Pierre-Louis.
They continued to pursue justice and truth for their daughter.
The self-confessed main suspect in the murder investigation, Ian Bailey, died in 2024.
Despite this, a cold case review into the death of Sophie is ongoing.
Friends of Sophie in West Cork remain hopeful that the truth about Sophie will come out.
Indeed they put a notice in this newspaper before Christmas, remembering their late friend, and hoping that anybody can come forward with information about what happened to Sophie.
We can only hope that those pleas are answered.
Sophie’s mother Marguerite said goodbye to her husband this week, 28 years after saying goodbye to her beloved daughter.
Sophie’s only child, Pierre-Louis, is now 43 years old.
They have never stopped searching for justice for Sophie.
Neither have her friends in West Cork.
In September, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that our legal system had failed in its duty to find her killer, calling the case ‘seared into our consciousness’.
A generation has passed but the hope remains that a new year can finally bring out the truth.
Kindness in West Cork
As we begin the new year, it was nice to hear an affirming tale of the kindness of strangers in West Cork.
This week’s Southern Star reports on how locals helped save a Christmas getaway for a Kildare couple stranded with a flat tyre on Christmas Eve.
Rachel Denise was gushing in her praise of the people of West Cork, from her breakdown assist to her taxi driver to Bantry Tyre Centre as they helped get their holiday back on track.
We’ve always known that West Cork people are ‘salt of the earth’ but it’s even nicer to hear it from someone else!
What’s also interesting to note from Denise’s experience in West Cork is that all of these kind acts were by local businesses in West Cork.
We are blessed to have such services on our doorstep.
The last few years have been tough ones for many West Cork businesses, and indeed the outlook for the years ahead is far from clear, as we face into uncharted territory, with global turmoil adding to unease.
It’s another reminder that we should all try to support local when we can in the coming year.
Supporting local is of the reasons why some of the best is out West.
Happy new year to all our readers.
