Remains exhumed in search for one of the 'Disappeared'

Human remains have been exhumed from a grave in Co Monaghan as part of a search for one of the 'Disappeared'.

The remains were taken from a single grave at Annyalla Cemetery in Co Monaghan, which is located between the towns of Castleblayney and Clontibret.

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) said it had received information of "suspicious historic activity" at a grave in the cemetery in the 1970s.

It said that the timeframe coincided with the disappearance of Joe Lynskey - an IRA member and former Cistercian monk.

Mr Lynskey was only confirmed as one of the so-called 'Disappeared' in 2010.

The ‘Disappeared’ were a group of 16 people who were abducted, shot and secretly buried by republicans during the Troubles.

The remains recovered from the Co Monaghan cemetery have been taken for analysis, to establish and confirm their identities. It is believed that process may take some time.

Joe Lynskey disappeared in the summer of 1972.

In 2015, the ICLVR searched a site at Coghalstown, Co Meath, for Mr Lynskey.

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They were unable to find him, but the bodies of two other members of the ‘Disappeared’, Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee were recovered during the dig.

A further search for Mr Lynskey was carried out in 2018 at nearby Oristown, Co Meath.

Again nothing was found.

This autumn, the ICLVR also carried out searches at Faughart, Co Louth for the remains of Captain Robert Nairac.

The undercover soldier was abducted from a south Armagh pub in the seventies and shot dead at Ravensdale.

Nothing was found during the search operation.

Of the 17 listed members of the Disappeared, 13 have been found over the years.