Could a horseshoe medal solve a 26-year mystery?

A horseshoe shaped medal inscribed with the name MacGinty could be the key to identifying a man who drowned in County Cork 26 years ago, a search and recovery volunteer has said.

In July 1999 a man's body was recovered from the River Lee just outside Cork city.

The man, believed to be aged in his 40s-60s when he died, did not have any personal documentation and Gardaí (Irish police) have appealed to the public to examine the distinctive medal he was found with.

David Varian, a member of Cork City Missing Persons Search And Recovery, said he believed the spelling of the name on the medal could indicate the man may have come from outside the Republic of Ireland.

"The Gardaí have done extensive searching here in Ireland and nobody has been able to trace it back to this individual," he said.

"The MacGinty name is popular in Scotland and Northern Ireland."

He added the spelling is more common in Scotland than in Northern Ireland, where McGinty is found more often.

"So, maybe this gentleman was from Scotland or from Northern Ireland and was living in the south of Ireland and somebody has lost contact with him."

The case was featured on Irish broadcaster RTÉ's Crimecall programme earlier this week.

The series regularly involves a mixture of contemporary and historic unsolved crimes.

At the time Gardaí believed the man may have lived a "transient lifestyle" and the post-mortem examination concluded that he had died from drowning.

They were unable to determine how long the mans body had been in the water due to decomposition and nobody came forward to identify it.

Gardaí described the man as being 5'10" with a strong build, a short neck, dark hair and short grey facial hair.

Further investigations were conducted including DNA sampling and cross referencing the description against missing persons, both of which failed to find a match.

Gardaí said the man was unusually dressed, wearing several layers of clothing including navy trousers, green striped trousers and blue jeans along with two pairs of socks.

He was also wearing a red and white striped shirt, a green short sleeved jumper and another beige jumper with the sleeves cut off.

His brown boots were lined with paper labelled "Reality April 99".

As well as the horseshoe medal he also had wooden rosary beads, holy water, a keyring with three religious medals attached, a Silver Philip Mercier watch with a gold face and a Claddagh ring in his possession when he died.

Varian first became aware of the case after an appeal by the guards last year.

"It's still not been solved which is why I think it's worth trying an appeal further afield," he said.

"It could help give closure to a family."

Gardaí want anyone with information to contact them.