Latest news with #DisappearedCommission
Belfast Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Provos to be asked to give new information on secret graves in fresh push to find the Disappeared
New Disappeared investigator issues plea to ex-IRA members to help find remains of four men killed and secretly buried in 1970s Former IRA members will be the focus of a new bid to recover the remaining four bodies of the disappeared victims who were killed and secretly buried during the Troubles. The initiative will be spearheaded by a former garda detective inspector who has worked to solve old case murders has been appointed lead investigator with the so-called Disappeared Commission.
RTÉ News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Head of Disappeared probe believes it can complete task
The new head of a commission set up to find the bodies of people murdered and secretly buried by republicans during the Troubles has said he would not have taken the job, if he did not believe it can complete its task. The remains of four of 17 people known as the so-called 'Disappeared' have not yet been recovered. Former garda officer Eamonn Henry is the lead investigator for the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR), often referred to as the Disappeared Commission. Since it was established in 1999 by the Irish and British governments, 13 of the bodies have been recovered and returned to their families. A former garda inspector who served for 30 years, Mr Henry worked as a liaison officer with the commission from 2013 to 2017. He joined its investigation team in 2023 and was appointed to lead the organisation last month. The search continues for the bodies of Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Seamus Maguire and former British army captain Robert Nairac. While many of those involved in those abductions, murders and burials have since died, Mr Henry does not accept that any hope of finding them is gone. "No, and that's my job, and that's the commission's job," he told RTÉ News, adding "it's all the investigators' jobs to make sure that we don't lose hope". "If I didn't believe that we can find these bodies I wouldn't be here today, I would not have put myself forward for this," he said. "But I have seen the tremendous work that has been done over the years, and I firmly believe that we will recover the last four remains," he added. Mr Henry said the recovery of the bodies "may take a bit of time". But he added: "I do believe that we will recover those people." During his time as garda liaison officer, the commission recovered the bodies of Brendan Megraw, Kevin McKee and Seamus Wright. He also worked on the case of Seamus Ruddy, whose remains were found in Paris a few months after he retired. Mr Henry said it was "a moving experience" when Brendan Megraw was recovered, adding "it was a really moving experience" meeting the Magraw family. He said: "And again, the Wright and McKee families as well, it was a moving experience, and to see the, I suppose, some relief in relation to the recovery of their loved ones and that they now had a place where they could bury their loved ones and place to go up to mourn them, compared to the people who haven't been recovered." 'Time to bring them home' Mr Henry said the commission is actively following leads in the search for the bodies of the remaining Disappeared and appealed to anyone with information to come forward. "We will have a number of operations in the near future in relation to some of those," he said. "At the end of the day basically, I might be oversimplifying this, but we are looking for four locations, four locations of where those bodies are," he added. Mr Henry said he is "not interested in the politics, I'm not interested in secrets of any organisation or whatever". "I'm interested in four locations as to where these victims are so that we can recover them," he said. He said it has been "between 48 and 53 years" since the four individuals disappeared. "I think it's time to bring them home to their loved ones and to their families," he said. The commission has co-operation from former members of the Provisional IRA and the INLA, but Mr Henry believes there are still people who have information about the four bodies that have not been found and who have not yet come forward. He said: "Absolutely, I have no doubt that there are and whatever constraints there are in relation to them passing on that information, I'm asking the people who are either putting pressure on them or constraining them in handing over that information to please desist and allow these people to talk to us. "The information that we receive is treated in confidence, it's fully confidential. "Allow these people to give us the information that we need to find these four people and bring them home to their families."
RTÉ News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Former garda officer appointed to lead Disappeared investigation
A former garda officer has taken over as lead investigator with the so-called Disappeared Commission. Eamonn Henry takes over the responsibility for the day to day running of the organisation from Jon Hill who is stepping down. The Commission searches for the remains of people abducted, murdered and secretly buried by republicans during the Troubles. Its formal title is the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) The reamins of four victims remain outstanding, while 13 have been located since the establishment of the commission in 1999. Mr Henry is a former Garda inspector who served for 30 years, 12 of them working in the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. For four years he worked as garda liaison officer with the Disappeared Commission and joined its investigation team in 2023. "I am honoured and privileged to take up the role of Lead Investigator with the ICLVR following on from the tremendous work of the previous lead investigators Jon Hill and Geoff Knupfer," Mr Henry said. "My commitment is to the families of the Disappeared and the ICLVR team is focused on our mission to recover the remains of all 17 victims called The Disappeared. "Therefore I am appealing to anyone who has any information concerning the location of the remains of Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire to come forward to the Commission and we will treat all information received in the strictest confidence. "I am appealing to those persons with information to think of the grieving families who have lived with their grief for so long. It is time to return their loved ones to their families for a Christian burial." In a statement, the commission paid tribute to Mr Hill who has been working for it since 2006. "He allied investigative skills of a high order with his absolute determination to do everything in his power to return the remains of the Disappeared to their families. "Beyond that he formed a close bond of trust and affection with the Families of the Disappeared." Mr Hill said he informed the commission last year of his intention to step down, saying he had found it increasingly difficult to balance his work and home life. He said he was proud to have been part of the commission's successes.
