The Disappeared: New search for Columba McVeigh in Co Monaghan bog begins

A new search for a teenager murdered and secretly buried by the IRA is to begin.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Oct 2022, 00:01 GMT
Updated 3rd Oct 2022, 00:30 GMT
Co Tyrone teenager Columba McVeigh was murdered and secretly buried by the IRA in 1975Co Tyrone teenager Columba McVeigh was murdered and secretly buried by the IRA in 1975
Co Tyrone teenager Columba McVeigh was murdered and secretly buried by the IRA in 1975

Columba McVeigh, 17, from Donaghmore, Co Tyrone, was last seen in November 1975.

Excavators will return to a site at Bragan bog near Emyvale in Co Monaghan on Monday to start a new search effort, the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) has announced.

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To date five searches, the most recent ending in September 2019, have been carried out in the area since 1999 without finding Mr McVeigh’s remains.

Geoff Knupfer, lead investigator with the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR)Geoff Knupfer, lead investigator with the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR)
Geoff Knupfer, lead investigator with the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR)

He is one of the ‘Disappeared’ victims of the Troubles whose bodies have still to be found.

Geoff Knupfer, the ICLVR’s lead forensic investigator, said: “I’ll repeat what I said when we commenced the last search four years ago: we remain convinced that Columba was buried in Bragan Bog.

“The fact that we have not found his remains after a number of searches is deeply disappointing and frustrating especially for the McVeigh family.

“But in this work that is not in itself unusual.”

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Mr Knupfer added: “Back in 2014 we found Brendan Megraw’s remains 15 years after the first search on Oristown Bog, Co Meath.

“We constantly review information and refine it.

“While we never discuss the information we are working from suffice it to say we would not be searching unless we believed that there was a credible reason for doing so.”

Jon Hill, senior investigator with the ICLVR, will take operational control of the search.

He said: “We are looking at an area of around two acres in total which we’ll work on in two phases.

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“I can’t put a timeframe on the search but obviously we would hope to see success in phase one which starts today.

“In terms of how the search will progress, much will depend on the weather and the state of the bog as we move through the autumn.

“There is an additional challenge in that part of the area is forested but we’ll deal with that if we have to further down the line.”

Mr Hill added: “We are working with a highly experienced team of contractors and archaeologists and we will do our utmost to bring this search to a successful conclusion for the McVeigh family.

“We all know how much it would mean to them.”

Columba McVeigh was aged 17 when he was murdered.

The IRA say he had confessed to being a British Army intelligence agent who had received orders to infiltrate the IRA but have not given more detail on why he was killed.