Co Monaghan grave exhumed amid search for 'disappeared' IRA man Joe Lynskey

A grave has been exhumed in Co Monaghan as part of the search for the remains of Joe Lynskey, a Belfast man who was 'disappeared' by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1972 during The Troubles.

Lynskey is one of three 'Disappeared' people considered still missing by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR).

The Commission was established by an intergovernmental agreement between the Irish and British Governments signed on April 27, 1999, and by legislation enacted in Ireland and the UK.

The exhumation began yesterday, Tuesday, November 26.

"The Commission received information concerning suspicious historic activity during the 1970s at a grave in Annyalla Cemetery [near Castleblayney in Co Monaghan]," an ICLVR spokesperson told Sky News.

"Both the time frame and the location coincide with the disappearance of Joe Lynskey in 1972.

"The ICLVR did not become aware that Joe Lynskey was one of the Disappeared before 2010.

"Following an exhumation, there will be a formal process to establish the identify of all of the remains found in the grave.

"This process may take some time.

Jon Hill, the lead investigator with the ICLVR, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Ulster programme on Wednesday that all information the Commission receives is "strictly in confidence," but noted that "more recent information has supported that, or supported some that was already in existence, and that has led us to believe that this could have been where Joe Lynskey was buried.

"As results of that, the inquires continued for some period of time until we reached this stage where an exhumation was necessary.

"It isn't something that we take lightly, of course an exhumation is a very, very big step, and so all avenues have been explored prior to that to ensure that that was the only way we could proceed with this very vital piece of information." 

Hill said out of respect for the family, he would not say which grave in Annyalla Cemetery was exhumed, but said both the family and the Lynskey family were aware.

Hill said it would be fair to say that the grave that was exhumed is a family grave.

He added that Lysnkey's family is "cautiously optimistic."

Lynskey's niece Maria told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme: "These are long journeys for us, for all the families of the Disappeared that have had to go through this.

"I’ve been disappointed before so I’m hoping I’m not disappointed again."

She added: "When people give information, they don’t realise how humble and how grateful we are that they have given information.

"Whoever owns this grave, I thank them from the bottom of my heart that this has come out and hopefully it’s Joe, I hope to god it’s Joe and we can bring him home," she added.

"But we still have four more bodies, three men and one young woman that we need to bring home, too."

Describing her uncle, Lynskey said: "He was quiet, he was quite gentle and shy in a way. He was the only uncle we had."

Who is Joe Lynskey?

Joe Lynskey, a former Cistercian monk from the Beechmount area of West Belfast, disappeared in the summer of 1972 during The Troubles. He is regarded as the first person to have been 'disappeared' during The Troubles.

In December 2009, The Irish News ran an exclusive story revealing that Lynskey had been murdered and secretly buried by the IRA, of which he was a member.

According to The Irish News: "Lynskey's fate was sealed after he had a relationship with the wife of another IRA man and, acting without the sanction of the organization he ordered his love rival be shot.

"The man survived the gun attack but confusion around who ordered the shooting lead to raised tensions between the then fledging Provisional and the Official IRA who it was initially thought carried out the murder attempt."

Likely spurred by The Irish News story, confirmation that Lynskey was "executed and buried" by the IRA came the following month during a briefing conducted by a man who once operated as the IRA’s ‘P O’Neill,' the organization’s leadership spokesman.

According to The Belfast Telegraph in 2010, the briefing revealed that in 1972, the IRA executed and buried Joe Lynskey; that Lynskey was an IRA volunteer in Belfast at that time; that Lynskey was summoned to a meeting outside Belfast by the then leadership; that Lynskey wasn’t aware that he was under (IRA) investigation at that stage; that Lynskey was arrested by the IRA; that Lysnkey was court-martialled for breaches of IRA standing orders; that Lynskey was subsequently executed and buried in an unmarked grave.

In February 2010, the ICLVR added Lynskey to its list of the Disappeared. In March 2015, it began conducting excavations at a site in Coghalstown, Co Meath. During the course of these excavations, the remains of Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee were discovered. 

Another search for Lynskey was carried out in 2018 at nearby Oristown, Co Meath, but again, nothing was found.

Lynskey is prominently featured in the new FX series "Say Nothing." Lead investigator Hill told BBC Radio on Wednesday that the exhumation "hasn't come as a result of that programme going out in the last weeks."

He added: "This process has been going on for months now if not longer."

Who are 'The Disappeared'?

According to the ICLVR, The Disappeared are victims of paramilitary violence who were murdered and buried in secret arising from the conflict in Northern Ireland up to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998.

17 people were 'disappeared' over the course of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. (The Wave Trauma Centre in Northern Ireland puts this figure at 19, including two additional people who were disappeared in 2003 and 2005, falling out of the remit for the ICLVR which can only work on the cases of those who disappeared up to the Good Friday Agreement.)

The ICLVR says it is believed the 17 'disappeared' were killed by republican paramilitaries though the republican movement did not admit responsibility for all of them.

To date, the remains of 13 of the Disappeared have been recovered, 11 of whom have been recovered through the ICLVR’s efforts. They are Seamus Ruddy, Seamus Wright, Kevin McKee, Brendan Megraw, Peter Wilson, Gerard 'Gerry Evans, Charlie Armstrong, Danny McIlhone, Jean McConville, Eamon Molloy, John McClory, Brian McKinney, and Eugene Simmons.

Four victims - Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Robert Nairac, and Seamus Maguire - have not yet been located.