A body thought to be that of a Mr McIlhone who murdered by the IRA and secretly buried in the Republic, was found last month.

The remains had been under examination by a Dublin coroner for the past four weeks but a spokesman for The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains confirmed the inevitable on Friday.

Mr McIlhone - from west Belfast - went missing in 1981 at the age of 19 and became one of nine so-called Disappeared killed by republicans during the Troubles.

His body was found in the Ballynultagh area about 50 miles south of Dublin.

The IRA only admitted in 1999 that it kidnapped him.

In a statement issued on Friday, Mr McIlhome's family confirmed their loved one's remains would be laid to rest with his father and mother.

"We as a family are now at peace and now have the opportunity to give our brother Danny a Christian burial and to lay him to rest with our beloved mother and father," it said.

"While we have now found peace our thoughts and prayers remain with and will always be with the families whose anguish and loss continues."

Earlier this month, Ulster actor James Nesbitt offered his support to cictims' support group, WAVE, by calling for anyone with information about whereabouts of the so-called Disappeared to come forward.

The bodies of about 15 Catholics are thought to be buried in secret locations across the border.

Following the setting up of a special commission to locate the remains in 1999, four bodies have since been found.