Ireland's missing people have been remembered at an event to mark National Missing Person Day in Farmleigh in Dublin.
The event, which is held annually on the first Wednesday of December, is an opportunity to raise public awareness about the number of people who go missing in Ireland every year.
Today's ceremony included musical and personal tributes by some family members.
Patricia O’Reilly spoke about her mother Alice Clifford, who went missing from a Dublin hospital in 1979.
No trace of the mother-of-seven, who had Dementia, was ever found.
Dr Linda Williams from Forensic Science Ireland said there are 18 profiles of missing people on the DNA database, which was established in 2015.
DNA from more than 100 family members are also included.
The database led to the identification of Joseph Reilly, who had been missing for ten years
His body was washed up on a beach in Co Louth in 2007 and the identified remains were buried locally.
Dr Williams offered families the opportunity to give DNA samples today to add to the database.
Deputy Commissioner John Twomey said the gardaí give thorough, forensic and in-depth attention to missing case but it takes time.
The indoor ceremony was followed by families laying remembrance roses, along with the release of homing pigeons.
