Stormont '˜Silent Walk' to remember the Disappeared

The walk remembers those who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried by republicans during the Troubles.

Their families will walk from Carson’s Statue to the steps of Parliament Buildings where they will lay a black wreath with four white lilies representing those who have yet to be found.

Of the 17 Disappeared the remains of 13 have been recovered, the most recent being those of Kevin McKee and Seamus Wright who were found by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) in a grave in Coghalstown, Co Meath in June last year.

The inquest into their deaths is due to be held in Dublin later this month.

The four outstanding cases are Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Seamus Ruddy and Robert Nairac.

Among those expected to walk with the other families will be the sisters of Brian McKinney, who was disappeared in 1978 and whose remains were found in Co Monaghan in 1999.

Commenting on the eve of the All Souls Day walk, Sandra Peake, the CEO of the WAVE Trauma Centre which has supported the families of the Disappeared since 1995, said: “It’s impossible to overestimate the impact on the families of having their mother or father, brother or uncle taken from them in this way.

“If we have learned anything about dealing with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland it is that time and mortality will not resolve it.

“The families will continue to stand together until all the Disappeared are brought home.”