An exhumation has taken place in County Monaghan by the group responsible for locating the remains of the Disappeared. The Disappeared refers to individuals who were kidnapped, killed and clandestinely buried during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) acted on information about suspect movements during the 1970s at a grave located in Annyalla cemetery. The timeframe and the location aligned with the disappearance of Joe Lynskey in 1972, according to a statement from the ICLVR.
Mr Lynskey was abducted and killed by the IRA in Belfast. He had been a Cistercian monk before joining the republican group. Republicans have claimed that the murder of Lynskey and his burial were carried out by the IRA. The exhumation took place on Tuesday and the formal identification of the remains has begun, although the statement warns that this could take some time, and urged that patience be exercised while this happens. The search for Lynskey’s remains in 2018 was unsuccessful.
Thirteen of the Disappeared are known to have been found, leaving four still to be located including Lynskey, Seamus Maguire, Columba McVeigh, and Robert Nairac. The case of Maguire is a new addition, with the ICLVR taking it on in 2022. The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains was created by the UK and Irish governments in 1999. Annyalla is in the region between Monaghan town and Castleblayney. In November 2021, Lynskey’s niece went public, urging that his remains be found and returned home
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