A new four-part documentary series exploring the stories of some of Ireland's missing persons through the eyes of their families and loved ones is set to premiere on Irish-language channel TG4 later this week.
"Ar Iarraidh" (Missing) tells the stories of Ciara Breen, Columba McVeigh, Esra Uyrun, and Dean Roche, who all disappeared in Ireland without a trace.
The new four-part series dedicates one episode to each missing person, conducting deeply personal interviews with family members and friends who continue to struggle with grief.
The first episode of the series, which explores the disappearance of Ciara Bree, is set to air on TG4 at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1.
Breen was last seen in her home in Bachelor's Walk, Dundalk, on February 13, 1997.
A local man became the main suspect in the case after concerns were raised about the relationship he had with Breen, but no one has ever been charged in the case. In 2015, a search of an area called Balmer's Bog uncovered a floral dress fitting the description of the clothes Breen was last seen wearing. However, no remains were ever discovered.
The new series features interviews with Breen's family as well as her former teacher and local journalists who covered the case. The documentary explores the impact Breen's disappearance had on her mother Bernadette, who recently passed away without ever finding closure.
The second episode of the series airs on May 8 and explores the disappearance of 19-year-old Columba McVeigh on Halloween night, 1975.
McVeigh went out to buy a packet of cigarettes in the small hamlet of Castle Caufield in County Tyrone and was never seen again.
A vulnerable teenager who grew up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, McVeigh was used as bait by British authorities to help catch prominent members of the IRA.
In 1998, the IRA admitted to abducting and murdering McVeigh, but his body has never been found.
He was named as one of ‘The Disappeared’, a group of people who were abducted, murdered and buried in secret locations around Ireland.
A total of six searches of the Bragan Bog have been undertaken since 1999 in a bid to uncover McVeigh's remains, with the most recent search by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains taking place in November 2023.
The penultimate episode of the series, which airs on May 15, explores the disappearance of Esra Uyrun, who went missing on February 23, 2011, one week before her 39th birthday.
The mother-of-one left her home in Dublin to buy a pint of milk and was never seen again.
Friends and family have desperately sought answers over the past 13 years and discuss the impact that Uyrun's disappearance has had in the upcoming series.
The final episode of the four-part series airs on May 22 and explores the disappearance of Dean Roche, who was last seen in Kilkenny on March 22, 2015.
Roche left his mother's house in Hebron Park to buy a car on the day in question and was last seen in Ballyfoyle later that evening.
The car that he had purchased earlier that day was found crashed into a tree in Kilkenny, but Roche has never been seen since.
His family believes that the key to unlocking the truth about the case lies in the area where he disappeared.
The final episode follows a family desperately needing help locating their loved one.
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