Resolved. Patrick O’Sullivan disappeared in 1992 in Ireland. It’s now known he willingly disappeared to live his life as an out gay man
Patrick O’Sullivan, known as Patsy to his family, was a 35-year-old chef from Cork, Ireland, working in Killarney, County Kerry. He was last seen by his family at Easter in April 1992 and his disappearance was reported when he failed to show up for a family christening some weeks later.
His family never gave up the search, and a segment about his disappearance aired on Irish television program Crimecall, which airs re-enactments, CCTV, and public pleas for information about unsolved crimes, just last year.
UPDATE
This week it was reported that Patrick willingly disappeared and moved to England. There, he met his partner Stephen Aldridge in 1993, changed his name to Patrick Aldridge and had a non legally binding marriage with Stephen in the early 2000s. Stephen died of heart disease in 2022 and Patrick died of sepsis in 2024.
His status as a missing person was only discovered by chance after his death by Stephen’s niece and goddaughter Nikki. She had been scrolling on Facebook and recognised her uncle’s face in an article about a missing person. Nikki contacted Gardaí in Ireland and successfully found members of Patrick’s Irish family on social media.
Nikki has shared a lot of details about Patrick’s life with the Irish Examiner. He had a happy life in the UK and Nikki recalled memories of picnics, family holidays, and bonding over a shared taste in music. He had said to Nikki that he was unwelcome in Ireland and his family had issues with him being gay.
He was close to his UK family until Stephen’s death but eventually cut ties with them for reasons she doesn’t fully understand, saying in an interview with the Irish Examiner
>“I don't know why he did that, whether it was his pride, or if we reminded him too much of Stephen,"
Patrick’s Irish family were also interviewed by the Irish Examiner, and Patrick’s brother Jerry says his family were aware that Patrick was gay, but it was never acknowledged or discussed.
He says his brother suffered “physical and mental abuse” due to his sexuality, and while he doesn't know the extent of what Patrick experienced, he knows the kind of teasing and even physical abuse he experienced simply for having a gay brother when he was in school.
He shared Patrick had also been hospitalised due to mental health difficulties at some point.
Jerry shared that he is happy to hear Patrick had a good life and is relieved to know that he hadn't been harmed or died by suicide.
Patrick’s family has also learned that the woman who cared for him in his final days, a woman named Tina, did try to trace Patrick’s family after his death and even posted a public plea online, but nothing came of it as it went unnoticed by them.
Ireland for Gay People in 1992.
In 1992, it was a completely different world in Ireland for gay people. Homosexuality was still on the books as a crime and recent Irish court decisions had upheld this law. Homosexuality wasn't decriminalised until 1993.
While Patrick's family knew he was gay, I don't think him saying his family had issues with his sexuality was a lie. Feeling like a shameful secret isn't really much different than being outright rejected.
Sources
Patrick's missing person notice, reissued 2025. (Garda website)
‘A closure for us’: Cork family learns brother missing since 1992 died in UK two years ago