Review: The Blow-In

A refreshing standpoint on the Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder by Geraldine Comiskey

Geraldine Comiskey presents her excellent book, The Blow-In, as a diary or timeline, which starts in detail on Sunday 22nd December 1996, the day before the murder. It also summarises the years leading up to Ian Bailey’s arrival in West Cork a few years earlier, and even has a detailed cast list at the beginning which I am finding very useful to check who’s who as I re-read some other books on the case. The bibliography is also very thorough, extending to online resources and official reports in addition to the usual documentaries and books.

All of the books on this case contribute something fresh and interesting but this one stands out for several reasons. The most important is that it claims to document Ian Bailey’s “fight to clear his name” which puts a unique angle on the matter. I found Ralph Riegel’s book to be the most neutral, but this one is a close second. It is one aspect of this case that the recent coverage has been so anti-Bailey that anyone trying to remain neutral inevitably comes across as pro-Bailey. Comiskey occupies a more nuanced standpoint, a very adult one actually: belief that Bailey is not the killer, while acknowledging that he was an odd and frustrating narcissist. It is not contradictory for someone to be unlikeable yet innocent of murder. This should not need stating.

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?

Finally, the author makes clear that the book is not an attempt to solve the case but she clearly states her belief in Ian Bailey’s innocence. I have never quite found the courage to go that far. There is no evidence that he is the killer, but there is no evidence against anyone else either. I remember rolling my eyes at all of the supposed police mistakes when I first started watching Murder at the Cottage, but I have since modified that viewpoint. It sometimes feels like 1996 Cork is roughly comparable to 1976 England in terms of attitudes. On top of that no internet, hardly any mobile phone coverage, and DNA collection in its infancy.

At the crime scene, is it fair to hope that Alfie Lyons or Shirley Foster had tested the temperature of Sophie? The police did not think this was a good idea. The wording of a police statement on Murder at the Cottage implies to me that they thought it would be wrong to touch the body, to disturb the scene. Alfie and Shirley must have been absolutely shell-shocked by what they found outside their house. Various experts have doubts about using body temperature to determine time of death. And what if it had not been the birthday of Dr Harbison the state pathologist? Wouldn’t he have been in the area too late to do anything more than he already did, around 4pm on 23rd instead of 24th?

It was Harbison and his colleague Eugene Gilligan who stated there was nothing to be gained by leaving Sophie out there overnight, and it was the police who over-ruled that opinion. The fact remains that whatever the police did or did not do, there were still no useful fingerprints, blood samples or DNA at the scene. Gilligan in particular was professionally diligent in collecting briars and as much other material as he possibly could for later testing in Ireland and the UK. It is possible to point to mistakes but every case has those, even cases involving the London Metropolitan force which sees a murder twice a week; the figures hover around 110 a year. The Suzy Lamplugh case is just one example of a very bad investigation.

This book is strongly recommended. I think it noteworthy that this is the only one I have seen to be written by a woman. It’s also the only book that tries to explain the various forms of the word Gard. It is surely analogous to the English word ‘guard’ yet people talk about Gards, Garda, Gardai, and is that a capital G? An accent on the i? All is made clear.

Comiskey imagines what Ian’s life might have been without becoming a murder suspect. It’s still not a happy ending. His relationship with Jules ends much sooner, no doubt to the relief of her daughters. The alcoholism is still an issue, of course. Ian was always destined for a melancholy life but he could have been so much more. His success at school was noted on the sports field as well as in the classroom, such a rare thing. His first boss in Gloucestershire remembers that he stood out as special. Yes, he was a big figure physically but he also had an undeniable charisma. His constant following of the easy path, the shortcut, got him into all kinds of trouble. It would have been so much easier to knuckle down, do the journalism courses and steadily chip away at making a reputation in England. He didn’t know it then, of course.

The easy option seemed to be setting up his own news agency rather than working for some old has-been. When that faltered, he decided it would be easy to go and hustle in London - so many more opportunities than Cheltenham. It must have been Cheltenham stopping his career this time. When London became the problem, there was nowhere bigger to go, yet he was still only thirty. He did the opposite: Schull. The smallest, most remote corner of Europe, never mind Ireland.

The death of Sophie was the best thing that happened to Ian, after that Russian spy story, until one day, very early on, when Ian became the story. This had happened before the end of 1996, less than two weeks after the murder. Statements suggest that by New Year’s Eve 1996 Ian was very much a target. Many people think the rot set in on the very day of the murder, when Ian turned up at the crime scene, notebook in hand. Whatever he did there that afternoon, when he did it, and how he carried himself, some of those Gards and other journalists began to ponder the unthinkable: could the English journalist actually be the killer?

I was thrilled to see Crime Guy mentioned in the bibliography, and in humble recognition I’ve made sure that the referenced post is not paywalled. The Unusual Suspects jogs through a list and tries to come up with some uncommon but rational suspects.