Lovett's death came just four months after the outcome of
a divisive abortion referendum in the
Ireland in which a two-thirds majority voted to enshrine the right to life of the unborn in the
Constitution of Ireland, creating confusion over where that left the rights of the mother. On 22 April 1984, less than three months after Ann's death, her sister Patricia died by suicide at the age of 14. In the run-up to the
2018 Irish abortion referendum, the case was again remembered. After publishing an extensive piece in March 2018 retracing the facts of the case, on 5 May
The Irish Times carried a detailed interview with Richard McDonnell, Lovett's former boyfriend, coming forward for the first time and discussing the circumstances of their lives and their relationship. McDonnell stated that he first met Ann when he was 15 years old in her father's pub, The Copper Pot. She was 13 years old. They began a sexual relationship after she turned 14. According to McDonnell, their close and loving relationship had foundered when Lovett had found it difficult to continue, after she had come to him one night in late April 1983, apparently having suffered a serious assault and beating. He told
The Irish Times that Ann appeared to be distressed, showing him her thighs, which were marked with bruises and scrapes. Lovett then pleaded with McDonnell not to tell anybody. He asked Ann repeatedly if she had been raped, to which she did not reply. In October of that year, McDonnell explained that he became aware of the rumours around Granard that Ann was pregnant and confronted her with his doubts. She denied categorically that she was pregnant, laughing it off, and claimed she had gained weight. According to McDonnell, immediately following Ann's funeral, Lovett's mother and sister gave him a letter, which had been found addressed to him among Ann's possessions. The alleged letter, written by Ann on two sheets of paper, explained that she had "loved him dearly", and was "sorry for doing what she was going to do"; the reason being that nobody would believe he was the father of her child. McDonnell concluded that Ann, being strong willed and intelligent, went to the grotto alone to have the baby for a reason, in a deliberate act of "protest". McDonnell alleged that a Granard-based priest, Father John Quinn, upon learning of the letter, demanded to read it, and then told McDonnell to burn it, because it would "destroy the town" if its contents became known. According to McDonnell, another letter written by Ann, which was unaddressed, had also been found among her possessions, its opening line described by one of Ann's friends who had read it as "If I'm not dead by the 31st of January, I'm going to kill myself anyway". McDonnell further told
The Irish Times that, at the request of Granard gardaí, McDonnell's mother was to escort him be interviewed by local authorities. However, when he gave his statement to Detective Garda John Murren, he was allegedly alone and unaccompanied by a guardian or legal counsel. According to McDonnell, Father Quinn then brought him to the palace of
Colm O'Reilly, then
Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, who wanted to know what he had told the
Garda Síochána. Bishop O’Reilly was alleged to have ordered him to
kiss his ring, describing it as the seal of
St Peter, and swore him to a
vow of silence. Bishop O'Reilly told
The Irish Times in a statement that he had never met McDonnell. McDonnell did not know for sure whether Ann's child had been his, but he had lived with their deaths for the rest of his life. ==Documentaries==