21 years on, Granard baby echoes tragic Ann Lovett

THE discovery of the body of a newborn baby will have sent shivers down the spine of any resident of Granard, Co Longford, old enough to remember the lonely deaths of 15-year-old Ann Lovett and her secret child 21 years ago.

On January 31, 1984, when morning classes ended, Ann, a fifth-year student at the Mercy Order secondary school, left school as usual but didn’t go home.

After calling briefly to a friend’s house, she slipped back through the small streets and disappeared into the grotto by the graveyard on the hill at the top of the town.