Grim discovery of remains in France offers hope for families of Disappeared
Tánaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said she hopes the search for the bodies of the Disappeared is one step closer to ending, following the discovery of human remains in France yesterday.
The remains were found at a forest region near Rouen in northern France where a search had been taking place for the body of Séamus Ruddy, one of the four Disappeared whose bodies have not yet been found.
Three previous search attempts in the forest for Mr Ruddy’s remains were unsuccessful.
Following the grim discovery on Saturday morning, Deputy Fitzgerald offered her sympathies to all of the families of the Disappeared.
‘I hope the discovery of remains in France will move us ever closer to finalising the tragic search for all of the Disappeared,’ she said.
‘For a family to be bereaved but denied the opportunity to bury their loved one is a terrible cruelty that is hard to imagine.
‘At this time, I would like to remember all of the families of the Disappeared and the suffering which they have endured.
‘In particular, my thoughts are with those families who still await recovery of the remains of their loved ones.’
According to the French authorities, the recovery and formal identification of the remains will take some time.
Mr Ruddy, who was originally from Newry, Co. Down, was working as a teacher in Paris in 1985 when he was abducted and murdered by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), aged 32.
Mr Ruddy was one of 16 people who were abducted, murdered and buried in secret by Republicans during the Troubles – known as the Disappeared.
Despite widespread searches, the bodies of the other Disappeared – Robert Nairac, Joe Lynskey and Columba McVeigh – have never been found.