Search for Disappeared soldier Robert Nairac begins on Irish border

A “painstaking” search for the remains of Disappeared soldier Robert Nairac is taking place close to an historical site near the Irish border.

The British Army officer is believed to have been abducted by the Provisional IRA while on an undercover operation in a pub in south Armagh in 1977 and taken across the border to Flurry Bridge in County Louth where he was killed.

The remains of the Grenadier Guards captain have never been found.

Jon Hill, lead investigator for the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR), said that information about the location of Capt Nairac’s remains had been passed to the commission over the years.

Mr Hill told a press conference on Monday that the commission had reached a point where it believed it had enough credible information to undertake a search.

While investigations got under way on Monday, a geophysical survey of the area has been taking place since the beginning of the year.

“The land is farmland and is on the Hill of Faughart, which some people might know as an old battlefield site,” Mr Hill said.

“That has introduced into our thought processes, and reasoning, a number of factors we have had to take into account. Not least because there will be or may be archaeology there or may be remains that we may come across.

“We have had conversations with National Monument Ireland for advice and support in what we are doing.”

Capt Nairac is considered to be part of a group of 16 people, known as the Disappeared, who were killed and secretly buried by paramilitary groups.

In 2019, a preliminary examination of a site at Ravensdale Forest in Co Louth was carried out.

The ICLVR which has located the remains of a number of the Disappeared, said it will be its first search for Capt Nairac.

It is to take place in the Faughart area, also in Co Louth.

Jon Hill said while Capt Nairac is one of the highest profile of the Disappeared, they have had “very little to go on”.

“We believe that we do now have sufficient credible information to warrant a search,” he said.

He said the search will differ in a number of ways from the organisation’s last search which was for Co Tyrone teenager Columba McVeigh at Bragan Bog in Co Monaghan.

The search for Capt Nairac will be carried out on private land, and Mr Hill said he wanted to make it clear that neither the landowner nor the tenant have any connection with the decision to search that location.

“The area itself is relatively small, less than one acre, and farmland is inherently more stable than the bogland we have had to work on in other searches for the Disappeared,” he said.

“And so, while the weather is always a factor we have to deal with, I would hope that we will get a relatively clear run at this one.”

The search, on a site which is part of an area of significant archaeological interest, is being support by Ireland’s National Monuments Service.

“We are grateful for the support and co-operation of the National Monuments Service who have an interest in the wider area in which the Hill of Faughart has been identified as a 14th century battle site,” he said.

“Given that we may uncover archaeology or even historic remains, we have taken additional measures to cater for that eventuality and so we don’t anticipate that causing any insurmountable issues with our search.”

Mr Hill said the search will continue until they have found the remains or are satisfied there is nothing there to find.

“We are not time-limited but given the relatively small area, by our standards, I do not anticipate a protracted search period of many months,” he said.

“The Nairac family have been told that a search is about to commence and we will of course keep them informed of any developments.”

He added: “I am not going to put a number on the degree of confidence that we have that we will find the remains of Robert Nairac but what I can say is that if they are there we have the skills, ability and experience to find them.”

The ICLVR has also reissued an appeal for information about other remaining Disappeared cases, including Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh and Seamus Maguire.

“All information is treated in the strictest confidence,” it said.

The ICLVR can be contacted by telephone: 00353 1 602 8655, email to secretary@iclvr.ie or by post to: ICLVR PO Box 10827

Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111 or the untraceable anonymous online form can be found on crimestoppers-uk.org.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.