A HUNT is under way for the Ballina descendants of a single man who died without a will in London in 2012. The case of the unclaimed estate of the late Marty Curran was publicised on TV3’s Ireland AM last Tuesday morning. The programme featured Daniel Curran, the managing director of the London based- Finders International, a firm ofprobate detectives or genealogists that assists in the tracing of missing or unknown heirs of deceased persons, frequently for the purposes of settling unclaimed estates.

The company, which regularly features in the hit BBC programme Heir Hunters, has recently opened an office in Dublin and the case of the late Marty Curran is one of the ongoing unclaimed Irish estates it is investigating. Mr Curran, a single man with no children, died without having left a will and Finders International is desperately trying to find his next of kin who could stand to inherit all or part of his estate.

Finders International has established that Marty’s father, Jack (aka John) Curran was a soldier in 1931 and later worked as a machinist in an English car factory. It is thought that he may have been wheelchair bound. He passed away around 1973. Marty’s mother, Margaret (aka Peggy) is thought to have died around the time of the Second World War. Marty is understood to have been one of six Ballina-born Curran children who travelled far and wide once they left home. Sadly, he appears to have lost contact with most of his family over the years.

Finders International has already identified some US and UK-based relatives by tracing Marty’s siblings. One of the local angles they are exploring is the family of one of Marty’s brothers, Jim Curran, who served as a garda in Monaghan and married Peggy, a singer with the Judd Ruane Showband. If you know anything of Marty Curran or where his descendants may be now please contact Finders International business development manager in Ireland, Padraic Grennan on 087-274 4432 or Daniel Curran on 00 44 20 7490 4935. For more information on Ireland’s 550 unclaimed estates visit unclaimedestates.ie