Gardaí have resumed excavation of a site in County Louth in their search for the remains of Mrs Jean McConville, the Belfast mother of ten murdered by the IRA in 1972. They have also begun excavating a site in County Wicklow and have sealed off another in County Monaghan as part of an operation to locate the remains of eight people, killed by the IRA over 20 years ago and secretly buried.
Gardaí are digging for the remains of Mrs McConville at a car park overlooking Templeton Beach, not far from Carlingford in County Louth. Last night they broke through the tarmac and at first light today began digging. However the first location pointed out to them by the Commission for the Return of Victims’ Remains has not yet yielded anything. If the remains are not found there, Gardaí will begin excavating an adjoining site that was also pointed out.
Mrs McConville, a 39-year-old widowed mother of ten, was abducted by the IRA in Belfast in 1972. She was killed after she stopped to comfort a British soldier who had been shot outside her home in Belfast. Her eldest daughter, Helen McKendry believes this was enough to sign her mother's death warrant. Jean McConville’s children were placed in care after their mother's disappearance. All ten siblings met again recently for the first time in 27 years.
Relatives of Mrs Mc Conville came back to the scene of the dig this morning hoping this would be the last day of their long wait. By midday however, they were accepting that the excavation could take some time. Mrs McConville's son-in-law, Seamus McKendry said it was incredible that someone could pinpoint somewhere on a sand dune after all this time, as the car park had not there in 1972.
Gardaí say they have now sealed off a total of six locations in which, according to information from the Commission, the eight victims may be buried. The locations are: Templeton Beach, Carlingford, County Louth; the Lacken area of Blessington, County Wicklow; two sites in County Monaghan: a marsh ten miles from Carrickmacross and an area near Tydnavet; and two sites in County Meath: a wooded area at Coghalstown near Wilkinstown about 5 miles from Navan and an area at Oristown, about 4 miles from Kells. Digging has begun at the site in County Wicklow. Superintendent John Farrelly has warned that recovering the bodies could take some time.
Last night the Commission for the location of Victims’ Remains announced that they had received information on the whereabouts of eight bodies. These victims include Seamus Wright who disappeared in 1972; Kevin McKee last seen in 1975; 17-year-old Columba McVeigh who disappeared in 1975; and Bernard McGraw, John McClory, Brian McKinney and Danny McIlhonne who all disappeared in 1978. The remains of the ninth missing body were disinterred and left in a new coffin at a graveyard north of Dundalk on Friday.
