Mysterious Annyalla remains ‘identified’ – County Coroner

THE human remains found at Annyalla Graveyard in the search for one of the Disappeared have been identified, the Coroner for County Monaghan has confirmed to the Celt.

Describing the issue as “very sensitive”, Dr Mary Flanagan also reaffirmed the ‘fragments of bones’ identified were neither those of Joe Lynskey who was the first person to be disappeared by the IRA in 1972, nor related to the Comiskey family whose grave was opened in the search for Mr Lynskey’s remains.

And while Dr Flanagan would not reveal the identity of the remains, which were mysteriously found in the private grave plot, she did tell the Celt that gardaí are “not investigating” their discovery.

In November 2024, the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) received permission from a local family to search their grave at Annyalla Cemetery near Carrickmacross in the search for Joe Lynskey.

At the time, the organisation set up to find the Disappeared said they were led to the gravesite after they received information about suspicious activity in Annyalla Cemerrey around the time of Joe Lynskey’s disappearance in the early 1970s.

The grave was the burial plot of the former Bishop of Ferns, Brendan Comiskey, and other members of his family who were from Tasson near Clontibret.

Last March, ICLVR released a statement saying DNA testing revealed the fragments of bones found did not belong to either Joe Lynskey or the Comiskey family.

The Anglo-Celt repeatedly asked An Garda Siochána and the County Coroner for an update on the identity of the remains and last week, Dr Mary Flanagan contacted the office to say “the remains have been identified”.

The County Coroner said the family of the deceased have been notified but she would not be drawn on whether the remains were of another person buried in the graveyard or from elsewhere.

“It’s very sensitive,” Dr Flanagan said.

Joe Lynskey was a former Cistercian monk who left the order the night before he was due to be ordained and returned to Belfast where he joined the IRA.

He was later murdered and secretly buried by the IRA after he ordered the shooting of an interned man with whose wife he was said be having an affair.

Joe Lynskey’s disappearance featured in the Disney+ series ‘Say Nothing’ as former IRA member, Dolours Price, described how she transported him across the border to Monaghan for his execution.

Some republicans have said it’s likely Mr Lynskey was buried in consecrated ground because of his religious background.

The search at Annyalla is the second time in a decade that Joe Lynskey’s family have been disappointed in their search for him.

In 2015, a search for Lysnkey at Coghalstown, Co Meath, led to the unexpected discovery of the remains of two other IRA Disappeared, Kevin McKee (17) and 25-year-old Seamus Wright.

Of the 17 people known as the Disappeared, the remains of 13 have been recovered and returned to their families. Three of those were recovered in Co Monaghan. Joe Lynskey is one of four still to be found. They include: Columba McVeigh, who is also believed to be buried in Co Monaghan, Seamus Maguire and Captain Robert Nairac.

Anyone with information on the four outstanding Disappeared cases should contact the ICLVR on 01-6028655 or secretary@iclvr.ie or ICLVR PO Box 10827 Dublin, Ireland. All information is treated in the strictest confidence.