The Disappeared: We've told all we know, says IRA

The IRA has insisted it has supplied all the information it has about people who have been missing in Northern Ireland since the Troubles.

In a statement issued last night under its pen name of P O’Neill, the organisation said it had given all the details about people abducted and killed by its members during the troubles.

The Provisionals also claimed that following a recent review of that information, further details about the locations of the bodies of Jean McConville and Columba McVeigh had been given to the authorities over the past month.

The IRA said it hoped that the discovery last Tuesday of a woman’s remains on a beach near Carlingford, Co Louth would “bring closure to the trauma and suffering endured by the McConville family”.

Responding to a call by Michael McConville, the son of Jean, and others for more information, the IRA statement 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.

“This followed a complete review of all the information available to us. In the course of this review, we revisited each case in detail.”

Mrs McConville, a mother of 10 children, went missing from her West Belfast home in 1972.

A claim that she was an informer is denied by her family, who say she was being punished for tending to a wounded British soldier outside her home.

Columba McVeigh, a 17-year-old from Donaghmore in Co Tyrone, was abducted in 1975 and murdered after he allegedly confessed he was spying on the Provisionals.

In its statement, the IRA insisted it had done “all within our power to redress injustices for which we accept full responsibility”.

The Provisionals said the recovery of the bodies had been “hampered and protracted” by a number of factors including the lapse of time since the burial of bodies, changes in IRA leadership and the death of members and former members.

The IRA said it was not involved in the recent disappearance of Gareth O’Connor from Armagh.

The 24-year-old disappeared earlier this year after setting off for a regular appointment at a police station in Dundalk.

His family believe the local IRA leadership was involved.