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Violence - Details of 'the Disappeared'
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Page Compiled: Martin Melaugh; and Fionnuala McKenna (1996-2000)
Material is added to this site on a regular basis - information on this page may change
Details of 'the Disappeared'
The following table contains DRAFT information on those people who were abducted and killed, mainly by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1986, and their bodies secretly buried. They are referred to as 'the Disappeared'. As part of the peace process the IRA passed information on the location of six graves containing eight bodies to the Independent Commission for the Recovery of Victims' Remains. Work to identify the sites and recover the bodies began in late May 1999.
Malcolm Sutton, who compiled the Index of Deaths, has suggested that 'the Disappeared' could be defined as:
Persons abducted, killed and secretly buried during the 1970s and 1980s, whose bodies had not been recovered when the Independent Commission for the Recovery of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) was set up in 1999 following an IRA statement about 'the Disappeared'.
| Sutton List of 'the Disappeared' from his Index of Deaths |
| Name |
Age |
Home |
Killed By |
Date Disappear |
Date Recovery |
| Joseph Lynskey |
(45) |
|
IRA |
Sep 1972 |
|
| Seamus Wright |
|
Andersonstown, Belfast |
IRA |
2 Oct 1972 |
25 Jun 2015 |
| Kevin McKee |
(17) |
Andersonstown, Belfast |
IRA |
2 Oct 1972 |
25 Jun 2015 |
| Jean McConville |
(37) |
Divis Flats, Falls Road, Belfast |
IRA |
7 Dec 1972 |
27 Aug 2003 |
| Peter Wilson |
(21) |
St James's, Belfast |
IRA |
Aug 1973 |
2 Nov 2010 |
| Eamonn Molloy |
(21) |
North Belfast |
IRA |
1 Jul 1975 |
28 May 1999 |
| Columba McVeigh |
(17) |
Dungannon, County Tyrone |
IRA |
31 Oct 1975 |
|
| Robert Nairac |
(29) |
Stationed in County Armagh |
IRA |
May 1977 |
|
| Brendan Megraw |
(24) |
Twinbrook, Belfast |
IRA |
8 Apr 1978 |
1 Oct 2014 |
| John McClory |
(18) |
West Belfast |
IRA |
25 May 1978 |
29 Jun 1999 |
| Brian McKinney |
(22) |
West Belfast |
IRA |
25 May 1978 |
29 Jun 1999 |
|
Gerard Evans |
(24) |
Crossmaglen, County Armagh |
IRA |
27 Mar 1979 |
15 Oct 2010 |
| Danny McIlhone |
(19) |
West Belfast |
IRA |
Jul 1981 |
11 Nov 2008 |
|
Charles Armstrong |
(55) |
Crossmaglen, County Armagh |
IRA |
16 Aug 1981 |
30 Jul 2010 |
|
Seamus Ruddy |
(33) |
From Newry - abducted in France by INLA |
INLA |
9 May 1985 |
6 May 2017 |
| ICLVR additional death listed as disappeared (body recovered pre-1999) |
| Eugene Simons |
(26) |
|
IRA |
1 Jan 1981 |
24 May 1984 |
The following tables contain other related information on disappearances where the body was recovered prior to the setting up of the ICLVR, and also information on two disappearnces in the mid-2000s.
| Cases not on official lists |
| Name |
Age |
Home |
Killed By |
Date Disappear |
Date Recovery |
| John McIlroy |
|
Andersonstown, Belfast |
|
1974 |
|
| Sean Murphy |
(25) |
Cregganduff, County Armagh |
|
1986 |
|
| Examples of cases where bodies were recovered pre-1999 |
| Name |
Age |
Home |
Killed By |
Date Disappear |
Date Recovery |
| Hugh McVeigh |
(36) |
|
UDA |
7 Apr 1975 |
1 Sep 1975 |
| David Douglas |
(20) |
|
UDA |
7 Apr 1975 |
1 Sep 1975 |
| Samuel Miller |
(71) |
|
UDA |
14 Jan 1976 |
21 Sep 1977 |
| James Galway |
(33) |
|
UVF |
Sep 1982 |
24 Nov 1983 |
| Brian O'Raw |
(31) |
|
UVF |
19 Aug 1997 |
26 Sep 1997 |
| Recent cases of disappearance that may be paramilitary related |
| Name |
Age |
Home |
Killed By |
Date Disappear |
Date Recovery |
| Gareth O'Connor |
(24) |
Armagh |
|
11 May 2003 |
11 Jun 2005 |
| Lisa Dorrian |
(25) |
Bangor |
|
28 Feb 2005 |
|
Sources:
'The Disappeared' in The Irish News, 29 May 1999
'Group seeks Information about the 14 Disappeared' in The Irish Times, 1 September 1998
Letter from Shaun Woodward, then Secretary of State, 14 January 2009
Web site of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR)
Web site of 'The Disappeared of Northern Ireland'
Additional Material:
British and Irish Governments. (2006). Joint Statement by the British and Irish governments announcing the next steps on location of 'The Disappeared', (3 August 2006). Belfast: Northern Ireland Office (NIO).
BBC. (2022). 'Seamus Maguire: New 'Disappeared' case opened into murder', (3 February 2022). {external_link}
Great Britain. Parliament. (1999). Northern Ireland (Location of Victims’ Remains) Act 1999. London: HMSO. {external_link}
Great Britain. Parliament. (1999). Northern Ireland (Location of Victims' Remains) Bill, (13 May 1999). London: HMSO.
Republic of Ireland. Dail. (1999). Criminal Justice (Location of Victims' Remains) Act, 1999. Dublin. Stationery Office. {external_link}
Republic of Ireland. Dail. (1999). Criminal Justice (Location of Victims' Remains) Act, 1999 (Independent Commission For The Location of Victims' Remains) (Privileges and Immunities) Order, 1999, (26 May 1999). Dublin. Stationery Office. {external_link}
Irish Republican Army (IRA). (1998). Irish Republican Army (IRA) Statement on 'the Disappeared', (10 December 1998). Dublin: Irish Republican Publicity Bureau.
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