Ireland

Search for remains of murdered British soldier Robert Nairac stood down

Lead investigator urges anyone with information that could help locate burial site to ignore ‘myths’ and come forward

The search for the remains of Robert Nairac in a small piece of land in the Faughart area of Co Louth was launched in August. Photograph: BBC Northern Ireland/PA Wire
The search for the remains of Robert Nairac in a small piece of land in the Faughart area of Co Louth was launched in August. Photograph: BBC Northern Ireland/PA Wire
Jack White
Wed Oct 16 2024 - 00:01

A search for the remains of undercover British soldier Robert Nairac, one of the Disappeared, has been stood down in Co Louth.

The search of a small piece of land in the Faughart area, less than one acre in size, for the remains was launched in August by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR).

It was the first time a search had taken place for Nairac since he was murdered and secretly buried by the IRA in May 1977.

A captain in the Grenadier Guards, it is believed he was working undercover when he was abducted from the Three Steps Bar in Dromintee in south Co Armagh and taken across the border to Ravensdale Forest near Dundalk, where he was beaten and shot.

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In a statement on Wednesday, joint commissioners of the ICLVR Tim Dalton and Rosalie Flanagan said it is “bitterly disappointing” that the search has ended without success.

“Our thoughts are with the Nairac family, in particular his sisters Rosemonde and Gabrielle,” they said.

British army captain Robert Nairac is believed to have been working undercover when he was abducted from the Three Steps Bar in Dromintee in south Co Armagh
British army captain Robert Nairac is believed to have been working undercover when he was abducted from the Three Steps Bar in Dromintee in south Co Armagh

The joint commissioners said it is clear that more information is needed and they appealed to anyone who could assist them to come forward.

Jon Hill, lead investigator with the ICLVR, said the initial information received which spurred on the search remains credible.

“It is our experience from other searches that while we have been in the right area, the precise location has not been found the first time around,” he said.

“There is always a concern that once it is known that we are starting a search in a particular area, it is assumed that we have all the information that we need and people who could help may think there is no need for them to talk to us.”

Nairac is among 17 people known as the Disappeared who were killed and secretly buried by paramilitaries during the Troubles. Three others – Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh and Seamus Maguire – also remain missing.

[ Searching for Northern Ireland’s disappeared: ‘As the years went on, it just became life’ ]

Since the controversial figure’s death, claims and counterclaims have been made about Nairac, including that he was involved in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings in which 34 people were killed.

The former lead investigator with the ICLVR, Geoff Knupfer, previously described the claims as “wild allegations”, saying they “may well be putting off people who have information from coming forward because they believe the myths”.

Those with any information are asked to come forward by the ICLVR, which has stressed that any information and identities will be treated in the “strictest confidence”.

“Our sole interest is in returning the remains of Robert Nairac to his family so that he can be laid to rest following a proper funeral,” Mr Hill said.

Jack White

Jack White

Jack White is a reporter for The Irish Times