THE human remains that were exhumed from a County Monaghan grave last year are not those of Joe Lynskey, one of the Disappeared.
The West Belfast man, who had been a Cistercian monk and was a member of the IRA, was shot dead by the organization in 1972 and secretly buried. The Disappeared are a group of 17 people who were murdered by republicans during the Troubles and whose remains were not returned to their families. Of the 17, all but four bodies have yet to be recovered.
The organisation that was set up to relocate the remains has said that DNA test results do not match those of the remaining Disappeared or the family whose grave was exhumed. The Garda are now trying to establish the identity of the remains.
Jon Hill, the lead investigator of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR) said in a statement: “The results of the DNA examination of the remains have now eliminated them as being those of the family to whom the grave belongs and now also eliminated them as being those of Joe Lynskey or any of the Disappeared.
“All the interested parties, including the Lynskey family, have been informed.
“We know that this news is deeply disappointing for the Lynskey family and the throughs of everyone in the commission are with them at this most difficult of time.
“We are also conscious that this was a distressing experience for the family whose grave was opened to facilitate the exhumation.”
The Republic's Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the Lynskey family have had to “endure this particular cruelty for over 50 years”.
“I held hope that the Lynskey family would finally be able to lay him to rest. I am saddened that this is not the case,” he added.
