Thurles Information

Statement On conclusion Of DNA Testing On Human Remains Recovered By ICLVR.

The Minister for Justice, Mr Jim O’Callaghan TD, has expressed his disappointment today following confirmation that the human remains recovered recently by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains in Co. Monaghan are not those of Mr Joe Lynskey.

Minister O’Callaghan said: “When the Commission announced that unidentified remains had been found following an exhumation late last year, we all hoped that they would be identified as those of Joe Lynskey. I held hope that the Lynskey family would finally be able to lay him to rest. I am saddened that this is not the case.
Today, my thoughts again are with the Lynskey family who have had to endure this particular cruelty for over 50 years.
I would also acknowledge that this experience has been distressing for the family whose grave was opened in order to carry out the exhumation and I am thankful for their understanding in such difficult circumstances.
I want also to commend the dedicated and ceaseless humanitarian work of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains. I assure them and the families of the Disappeared of my and the Government’s support for their ongoing work.
The Commission will continue its vital work and I appeal again, today, to anyone with any information that could help the families of Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire to share this information with the Commission now.

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR) has also issued the following statement: “In an effort to locate the remains of Joe Lynskey, one of the Disappeared who went missing in the summer of 1972, human remains were exhumed from a grave in Annyalla Cemetery, Co Monaghan on 26 November 2024.
The results of the DNA examination of the remains have now eliminated them as being those of the family to whom the grave belongs and now also eliminated them as being those of Joe Lynskey or any of the Disappeared.
All the interested parties including the Lynskey family have been informed.
We know that this news is deeply disappointing for the Lynskey family and the thoughts of everyone in the Commission are with them at this most difficult time.
We are also conscious that this was a distressing experience for the family whose grave was opened to facilitate the exhumation.
We are grateful for their co-operation and support at all stages of the process.
The Commission will continue to do everything in its power to locate and recover the remains of all of the outstanding Disappeared cases.
We would again appeal to anyone with information relating to Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Robert Nairac or Seamus Maguire to bring it to the ICLVR where it will be treated in the strictest confidence”.

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR), led by Commissioners Mr. Tim Dalton and Mrs Rosalie Flanagan, was established by an Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom and signed on 27th April 1999 by legislation enacted in both jurisdictions. The ICLVR is responsible for facilitating the location of the remains of victims of paramilitary violence who were murdered and secretly buried arising from the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Further information is available at www.iclvr.ie
The ICLVR needs further information to be able to progress its investigations into the remaining disappeared victims – Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire.

Anyone with information on the four outstanding Disappeared cases —Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire; should contact the ICLVR Tel: +353 1 602 8655 or Mr Dennis Godfrey (ICLVR), Tel: +44 7771 642348.