The Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, has denied a claim that he must have known about the 1972 IRA abduction and murder of mother-of-10 Jean McConville whose remains, the family hope, were located in a shallow grave on a Co Louth beach last week.
The journalist Ed Moloney, in his book A Secret History of the IRA, claimed it was "inconceivable" that the Sinn Féin president, as an alleged IRA leader in Belfast at the time, did not know about Ms McConville's disappearance - a claim the journalist repeated at the weekend.
Mr Adams, on his first day back from holidays yesterday, again rejected Mr Moloney's claim. "His allegation is wrong," he said, adding: "I hope that these remains are the remains of Jean McConville. I hope it brings closure to her family. I have long thought that the families of these people who were killed and those whose remains were buried suffered a dreadful injustice."
Mr Adams said the IRA made "genuine efforts to try and bring closure for the families" and that he met many of the families at the end of last year. He had also spoken to the Taoiseach and Irish officials in the continuing efforts to locate the bodies.
Mr Adams said he was very mindful of the sensitivities around the issue. "I really think the least said about these matters the better. Let's keep focused on trying to have these remains returned so the families can have the burials they deserve," he said.
The IRA, in a statement late on Sunday night, said that it hoped "that the woman's remains found last week on a beach in Co Louth will bring closure to the trauma and suffering endured by the McConville family".
It also said that it had nothing to do with the disappearance of Gareth O'Connor, from Armagh city, who went missing in south Armagh in May, despite the O'Connor family's insistence that the IRA abducted him.
Mr Adams quoted the IRA statement saying it was not involved in Mr O'Connor's disappearance. "Of course if we can help we will, and if there is anything we can do we will do it," he added.
In its statement the IRA said "over a month ago we passed on specific information in relation to sites where the bodies of Jean McConville and Columba McVeigh were buried". The Government and the body responsible for locating the remains of missing victims of the troubles have however, disputed this claim.
In 1999 the IRA provided information on the locations of the bodies of nine people it killed between 1972 and 1981, including Mrs McConville and Columba McVeigh, from Co Tyrone, who disappeared in 1975. Searches of mountainous land near Emyvale in Co Monaghan in 1999 failed to locate Mr McVeigh's body.
Three of the nine bodies were recovered in searches. Searches for Mrs McConville's remains at Templetown beach in Co Louth in 1999 and 2000 were unsuccessful.
A spokesman for the Commission for the Location of Missing Victims said that in late 1999 it asked the IRA could Mrs McConville's remains be on Shelling Hill - where it was found last Wednesday - rather than Templetown beach, and was told "absolutely not".
The spokesman said it had received no recent information from the IRA on either Mrs McConville or Mr McVeigh.
A Government spokesman said there were "continuing discussions" with republicans about the missing bodies. He said "any information available would not have resulted in the discovery of Mrs McConville's remains".
The IRA also said it was not responsible for any other missing people apart from the nine mentioned in 1999.
Mr Michael McConville, son of Jean McConville, has pleaded with the IRA to provide information about two other men, Gerald Evans and Charlie Armstrong missing from south Armagh since 1979 and 1981. There is speculation the IRA in south Armagh has refused to co-operate in the process of supplying information on the whereabouts of victims' remains.
