Appeal for woman missing for 21 years

The family of a young woman who went missing 21 years ago do not want revenge — they just want to know where her body is.

Jo Jo Dollard, from Kilkenny, was aged 21 when she disappeared on November 9, 1995. She was making her way from Dublin to her home in Callan in the north of the county. She missed a direct bus home but managed to thumb several lifts before being dropped in the village of Moone, Co Kildare, where she was last seen alive.

She made a call from a phonebox in the village that night but she vanished and never arrived at home.

Her sister, Kathleen Bergin, has campaigned continuously for information on Jo Jo and since her disappearance, her family managed to get a national monument erected in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle to remember all missing people.

Kathleen and her family were driving forces behind Operation Trace, set up by former Garda commissioner Pat Byrne in 1998 to investigate the cases of six young women who disappeared from the Leinster area over a five-year period.

“In the early years we never thought it would go on this like. Words would never describe what this is like. We can’t close the door and say this all has gone away.

“We know in our hearts that someone has information and if only they could come forward and tell us what happened. Maybe their circumstances have changed since Jo Jo’s disappearance and we hope they would find the courage to come forward to us or the authorities.

“If this person has harmed Jo Jo they could do it again if they haven’t already. We are pleading for them to come forward and help us. We don’t want revenge [against anyone] we just want to know where she is. Not knowing is so difficult, it’s such a burden.

“It has had a devastating effect on our family. It’s torture, it’s affected not only the family but also her friends.

“We try our best to keep this campaign alive. We know in our hearts that someone has information. This just hurts so much and is so difficult that someone knows more than we do.

“We want her to be found before all of us [family] pass away. It’s just to know where she is and that she is not out there all alone. It’s time she was brought back to us — her family.”

Fr Willie Purcell from Callan has been vocal in his hope for Jo Jo’s return. He said the family “have done so much to survive through this. Not only the family but everyone involved in the search are constantly hoping a phonecall will be made or a door bell will ring with someone telling us where she is.

“We will never give up on Jo Jo, not just for her family but for Jo Jo herself. ”

Jo Jo will be remembered on 2pm on Sunday in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle where the missing persons monument is erected; it was opened in 2002 by former president Mary McAleese.

Local Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness said he hopes the fresh appeal will be followed through by the gardaí.

“When Jo Jo went missing 21 years ago, search methods were different. A lot more could be done to find her now and I hope the search will go beyond our legal jurisdiction.

“We want more engagement with the police on this but the authorities do not seem to be listening to us as we have been appealing for this for years.”