Families of three IRA victims murdered and buried in secret locations in the 1970s put the few meagre possessions found with the bodies of their loved ones in sealed plastic bags as they left the Dublin City Coroner's Court yesterday.
Among the items belonging to Mr Brian McKinney, Mr John McClory and Mr Eamonn Molloy were wedding rings, a small plastic cross, a Timex watch, trainers and a black leather jacket.
Ms Kathleen Doran, the wife of Mr Molloy, who was 22 when he was abducted, told the inquest she identified his remains in May from a wedding ring she bought him in a shop in Dublin in 1973.
The large group of relatives sat quietly on a long bench in the small court. The mothers of Mr McClory and Mr McKinney sat with their hands clasped and listened as the State pathologist, Dr John Harbison, ran through the details of autopsies performed on their sons' remains.
Dr Harbison said all three died from a "laceration of the brain", caused by a single gunshot to the back of the head.
After he had finished, Dr Brian Farrell, the Dublin City Coroner, said the "only consolation" he could offer the relatives was the three men were killed instantaneously and other injuries they may have suffered took place after they were shot.
He gave the example of Mr McClory and Mr McKinney, whose bodies had rocks placed over them so they would sink to the bottom of a bog at Colgagh, Co Monaghan. After the hearing, Mr Philip Doran, who married Ms Kathleen Molloy in 1989, said six "families of the disappeared" remained and he hoped their pain would end soon. "They have been grieving for years and an end should finally be in sight for them," he said.
Ms Margaret McKinney, mother of Brian, said the family often travelled to the bog area in Colgagh and said it was a "lovely" area. They had left flowers there. When asked if she was disappointed the inquest was not able to determine for certain where her son was killed, she replied: "It's not vital for us to know where he died. At least we have a grave to go to now." She appealed to anyone with information to come forward and help the other families find the remains of relatives. She said she would keep in regular contact with them.
Evidence given during the inquest offered a slight glimmer of hope for these families.
Det. Supt Martin Callinan, of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigations, said the Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains was still in existence and continued to meet. He said "dialogue" over the other bodies was continuing.
He added that it was a "disappointment to the gardai and the whole country" that more bodies were not discovered during the summer when six sites around the State were excavated.
Speaking to The Irish Times, after the inquest, Chief Supt Nacey Rice said the gardai would encourage anyone with information to come forward and help locate the graves of the remaining six victims.
He said contact between the Commission and the Garda would continue and said digging at the six sites excavated in the summer, was "not stopped, but suspended".