Unsolved After 20 Years: Who Killed Irene White in Ireland’s Most Brutal Murder?

On April 6, 2005, 43-year-old Irene White, a mother of three, was brutally stabbed 34 times in her kitchen at her home, the ‘Ice House’ in Dundalk, County Louth.

Maureen, devastated by her daughter’s murder, died of a broken heart just months later.

Irene had been receiving death threats before her murder, documented in diaries she kept. Yet, for eight years, her killers walked free—until an anonymous call from Australia cracked the case open.

The Breakthrough: A Confession from Across the World

In 2013, a woman in Australia contacted Irish police, revealing that Anthony Lambe, a former security worker, had confessed to Irene’s murder during drunken visits to her home.

She recounted how Lambe reenacted the stabbing, bragging, “They should have found the weapon.” He called Irene a “bad b**“ and said “a job had to be done.”

Lambe, struggling with drug addiction and debt, claimed he was pressured into the killing by Niall Power, a business partner of Irene’s estranged husband, Alan White.

The Convictions—But Was There a Mastermind?

• Anthony Lambe (43) pleaded guilty in 2018 and is serving a life sentence.
• Niall Power (53), who admitted being the “middleman,” also received life in prison.

But gardaí (Irish police) believe both men were following orders from a third, unidentified figure—a suspected “mastermind” who remains free to this day.

Before her death from cancer, Anne Delcassian, Irene’s devoted sister, compiled a damning dossier pointing to a shocking possibility—that the alleged mastermind behind the murder had ties to law enforcement. Her files, filled with meticulous notes and witness accounts, suggested the killer might have been protected by the very system meant to deliver justice.

“She knew,” says Kenneth Delcassian, Anne’s widower. “She died with the weight of that knowledge. Now it’s my duty to see this through.”

Despite Niall Power’s confession that he acted under orders, authorities claim there’s insufficient evidence to charge the suspected mastermind. But insiders whisper that the real reason may be far darker—that the individual in question was a valuable police informant, allowing him to evade scrutiny for years.

A 2019 source told the Sun on Sunday:
“This man walks free while everyone knows what he did. He’s brazen because he’s untouchable. The border region has long suspected he traded information for immunity.”

Alan White, Irene’s estranged husband, was briefly arrested but released without charge. Though he denies any involvement, Niall Power claimed in police interviews that Alan had asked him to “sort out” Irene months before the murder.

In a chilling courtroom moment during Lambe’s sentencing, Alan insisted he was “shocked” by the revelations—yet Irene’s family remains unconvinced.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) concluded there was not enough proof to pursue the suspected mastermind, leaving the case in infuriating limbo.

Kenneth Delcassian’s rage is palpable:
“How can they ignore the evidence? The money trail, the confessions, the witness statements—it’s all there! This wasn’t just a murder; it was a contract killing arranged by someone who thinks they’re above the law.”