Joe Lynskey: Investigators believe body of 'disappeared' IRA victim has been found in another person's grave
It is believed that the remains were secretly buried in another person's grave
Investigators believe they have found the body of a disappeared IRA victim buried in the grave of another person.
Sources have confirmed that an extra body was found in a grave on Tuesday as an exhumation took place in Annayalla, Co Monaghan.
It is believed that the remains were secretly buried in another person's grave.
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Investigators believe that the remains are Joe Lynskey, one of the disappeared victims who was abducted and killed by the IRA during the Troubles. However, they have stressed that this cannot be confirmed until DNA tests are completed.
A garda spokesperson said all queries on this matter should be referred to the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains.
The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) said it received information concerning suspicious historic activity during the 1970s at a grave in Annayalla Cemetery.
A spokesperson said both the time frame and the location coincide with the disappearance of Joe Lynskey in 1972.
They added: "Following an exhumation there will be a formal process to establish the identity of all of the remains found in the grave. This process may take some time."
Joe Lynskey was a former Cistercian monk who later joined the Provisionals.
He was kidnapped in West Belfast in August 1972 and became known as one of the so-called Disappeared.
Despite several searches over the years, his remains have never been found.
The Disappeared consists of 16 people abducted and secretly buried by republicans in the 1970s and 1980s.
The remains of 13 have been recovered however, the final three – Mr Lynskey, Columba McVeigh who was kidnapped in 1975 and British soldier Captain Robert Nairac, taken in South Armagh and killed by the IRA in 1977 – have never been found.
In 2019, a reward of £46,994 (€56,311.27) for information resulting in the recovery of the remains of the three Disappeared victims was offered.
The deadline for this award was extended earlier this year until January 2027.
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