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Search fails to find remains of Capt Robert Nairac

National Portrait Gallery A cropped version of a National Portrait Gallery image of the Army officer Captain Robert Nairac. He has short, brown hair and is wearing a red military jacket decorated with gold buttons, gold epaulettes and single medal pinned to his chest. He is holding a tall, black bearskin hat.National Portrait Gallery
Capt Robert Nairac was working undercover when he was murdered in 1977

A search for the remains of Capt Robert Nairac, who was murdered and secretly buried by the IRA almost 50 years ago, has ended without success.

It began in August and focused on an area of farmland less than one acre in size at Faughart near Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland

It was organised by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR).

In a statement, it said it was “bitterly disappointing” his remains were not found.

ICLVR A map showing areas where the search took place highlighted in red and the disused railway line is the grey line to left of boxes
A map showing areas where the search took place highlighted in red

Capt Nairac, who was from Gloucestershire and lived in Sunderland, was abducted outside a pub at Dromintee in south Armagh in May 1977.

The 29-year-old Grenadier Guards officer was working undercover.

He was taken across the Irish border to Flurry Bridge where he was beaten and shot dead.

The location of his remains has been a mystery ever since.

BBC POOL A screengrab of TV footage of the ICLVR's search for Capt Robert Nairac. Two men dressed in orange high-visibility jackets are standing in a field beside an open gate. Two mechanical diggers are also in the field and a large section of grass has been dug up and turned over for examination.BBC POOL
The search of private farmland in County Louth began in August

The search, the first to have taken place and involving mechanical diggers, began after information was relayed to the ICLVR.

It is believed to have come from a former IRA member.

Pacemaker An archive photo of the Three Steps pub in Dromintee, County Armagh. The building is painted cream with brown windows, with pub signs on the facia boards. Two cars are parked outside.Pacemaker
Capt Nairac was abducted from outside the Three Steps pub in Dromintee

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he was saddened to hear that the search had ended without success.

"My thoughts are with his sisters, who continue to live with the pain of not having the remains of their beloved brother returned to them," Benn said.

"I thank the ICLVR for its efforts and urge anyone with information to come forward and speak confidentially to them."

'Bitterly disappointing'

ICLVR commissioners Tim Dalton and Rosalie Flanagan said in a statement: “It is bitterly disappointing the search has ended without success and our thoughts are with the Nairac family, in particular his sisters Rosemonde and Gabrielle.

“The investigation and search team did everything they could to bring about a successful outcome.

“But clearly more information is needed and we would appeal to anyone who has information to bring it to the commission.

“They can do so in the knowledge that their identity and any information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence.”

Jon Hill, the ICLVR’s lead investigator, said he still believed the information it had received was credible.

“The fact that we haven’t found Robert Nairac’s remains does not change that," he said.

“It is our experience from other searches that while we have been in the right area the precise location has not been found first time round.

“There is always a concern that once it is known that we are starting a search in a particular area that it is assumed that we have all the information that we need and people who could help may think there is no need for them to talk to us.

“Nothing could be further from the truth."

Getty Images/Central Press Archive image showing Nairac's family, father Maurice with short grey hair and glasses, mother Barbara with white hat and scarf and sister Rosamonde with short dark hair and dark jacketGetty Images/Central Press
Robert Nairac's parents Maurice and Barbara, with sister Rosemonde, received his George Cross in May 1979

The commission was established by the UK and Irish governments in 1999 to find the Disappeared – 17 individuals murdered by republicans during the Troubles and secretly buried.

To date, the remains of 13 have been found.

The precise location of the search for Capt Nairac’s remains were not disclosed but it was on private farmland.

“Our sole interest is in returning the remains of Robert Nairac to his family so that he can be laid to rest following a proper funeral," Mr Hill said.

"Not being able to do that for nearly 50 years is a source of great pain and anguish to his now elderly sisters and the wider family.

"We need to be able to end that suffering”.

A man was convicted of Capt Nairac’s murder in 1977.

The ICLVR has previously dismissed rumours that the soldier’s body was disposed of using a meat grinder.

It also said there was no evidence linking him to the Dublin Monaghan bombings or the Miami Showband massacre – attacks carried out by loyalists in the 1970s.

Listen to Assume Nothing: The secret search for Captain Nairac on BBC Sounds.