Press release
Statement by Minister McEntee on the conclusion of the search at Bragan Bog for the remains of Columba McVeigh
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has expressed her disappointment that the recent search by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) for Columba McVeigh has concluded without success.
Minister McEntee said:
“When the Commission announced the new search last year, I held hope that Columba McVeigh’s family would finally be able to lay him to rest. This case has been extremely challenging, with this being the sixth such search at the isolated Bragan Bog in Co. Monaghan, where the terrain is difficult.
"I am saddened that, in spite of the substantial efforts of the Commission, the remains of Columba have not been located at Bragan Bog.
"I want to acknowledge the unwavering and sustained determination of the Commission to locating Columba since the first search at Bragan Bog was conducted in 1999. I would like to thank the investigators, forensic archaeologists and machine contractors for their pain-staking and sensitive work.
"Today, my thoughts again are with the family of Columba who have endured this particular cruelty for so many years.”
The Minister added:
“Ireland’s national Missing Persons Day will fall on 6 December this year and at this time we think of all families of The Disappeared who still await the return of their loved ones’ remains. The role of the Commission is a critical, humanitarian one: to support these families who have suffered the devastating loss of their loved ones. This government remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting the ongoing work of the Commission.
"I know that the Commission will continue its vital work and I appeal again, today, to anyone with any information that could help the families of Columba McVeigh, Joseph Lynskey, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire to share this information with the Commission now.”
Columba McVeigh was a single man from Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone. He disappeared on 31 October 1975 and is believed to have been secretly buried at Bragan bog in Co. Monaghan. Five previous searches of the area have not succeeded in locating his remains.
The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) was established by an Agreement between the Government of the Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom signed on 27 April 1999, and by legislation enacted in both jurisdictions. The ICLVR is responsible for facilitating the location of the remains of victims of paramilitary violence who were murdered and secretly buried arising from the conflict in Northern Ireland. Further information is available at www.iclvr.ie
The two current Commissioners are Mr. Tim Dalton and Mrs Rosalie Flanagan. The Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Office, provides financial support for the Commission.
Information about the missing victims is fundamental to the ICLVR’s work. The ICLVR needs further information to be able to progress its investigations into the remaining disappeared victims – Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire.
All information provided to the Commission is legally privileged. It can be used only to try to locate the remains of the Disappeared and cannot be passed on to other agencies or used in courts.
The ICLVR can be contacted in confidence by: