LATEST |
A sixth body found in the Comiskey plot was initially believed to be that of IRA man Joe Lynskey
A sixth body found in the Comiskey plot was initially believed to be that of IRA man Joe Lynskey
Human remains recovered from a burial plot in a Co Monaghan graveyard last November are not those of ‘Disappeared’ republican Joe Lynskey, officials have confirmed.
Mr Lynskey, a former Cistercian monk from the Beechmount area of west Belfast, was abducted and murdered by the IRA in 1972.
Late last year, remains were recovered from a rural graveyard plot which belongs to the family of the former Bishop of Ferns, Brendan Comiskey.
Mr Lynskey’s family members were hopeful that DNA testing would confirm the remains were those of Mr Lynskey.
However, the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR) has now announced that they are not. They also do not belong to anyone from the family to which the grave belongs.
“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 November 26, 2024,” a statement from the ICLVR reads.
“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.”
Read more
Troubles play impressing Dublin audiences is a riveting watch… despite plenty of Oirishisms and cliches
The IRA disappeared Robert Nairac’s body and the British disappeared the truth about exactly who he was
The ICLVR further thanked the family of Mr Comiskey, who underwent “a distressing experience” upon having the grave opened to facilitate the exhumation.
The statement added: “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.”
Speaking to The Belfast Telegraph last month, Mr Lynskey’s niece Maria said that her uncle deserves a proper funeral and burial, adding that she hoped that the wait to find his body would now be over.
Mr Lynskey disappeared in 1972, and for more than three decades his family believed he had moved to America, with even some unverified reports of him being seen in the US.
However, it wasn't until 2010, when former IRA member Dolours Price confessed, that his case was added to the list of the Disappeared — individuals who were killed and secretly buried by republican paramilitaries.
The issue of the IRA's Disappeared gained renewed global attention after the release of the Disney+ series Say Nothing last year, which focused on the lives of IRA bombers Dolours and Marian Price, as well as their involvement in the abduction and murder of Jean McConville in 1972.
Mr Lynskey’s own disappearance was also featured, although the timing of the broadcast and the exhumation is understood to have been coincidental.
He was murdered after ordering the unsanctioned shooting of another IRA member with whose wife he was having an affair.
Mr Lynskey was said to be infatuated with the woman and told another member to shoot his love rival.
The attack was at first blamed on the Official IRA, before it was discovered that Lynskey had ordered it.
He was collected from his west Belfast home and driven to Monaghan, where he was handed over to a local unit of the IRA.
A devout Catholic, he was said to have spent his last days in captivity praying.
Anyone with information on the four outstanding Disappeared cases — Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire — should contact the ICLVR on +353 1 602 8655 or email secretary@iclvr.ie or ICLVR PO Box 10827 Dublin, Ireland.
All information is treated in the strictest confidence.
Read more