‘Bitter disappointment’ as search for 'Disappeared' Sunderland soldier Robert Nairac ends without success

The Grenadier Guards captain, who grew up in Sunderland, is believed to have been abducted by the Provisional IRA while on an undercover operation in a pub in south Armagh in 1977.

It is thought he was taken across the Irish border to Flurry Bridge in County Louth where he was killed and secretly buried.

His remains have never been found, and he is part of a group of 16 people, known as the ‘Disappeared’, who were killed and secretly buried by paramilitary groups.

The recent search on farmland close to the Irish border was the first for Capt Nairac carried out by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR), which has located the remains of a number of the Disappeared.

A further appeal for information has been made following the search of around an acre in the historic Hill of Faughart area.

ICLVR joint commissioners Tim Dalton and Rosalie Flanagan announced that the search which started in August has ended without success.

In a joint statement they said their thoughts are with Capt Nairac’s family.

“It is bitterly disappointing that the search for Robert Nairac’s remains has ended without success and our thoughts are with the Nairac family, in particular his sisters Rosemonde and Gabrielle,” they said.

“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.”

Cap Nairac was born in Mauritius in 1948, his family moving to Sunderland the following year, his father going to work at Sunderland Eye Infirmary as a specialist surgeon.

Robert attended Roman Catholic public school Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, followed by Lincoln College, Oxford University.

He entered the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in 1971 before joining the Grenadier Guards.

He undertook post-graduate studies at the University of Dublin before joining his regiment.

The soldier’s first tour of Northern Ireland was in 1973, and he joined military intelligence in 1974, eventually becoming involved in undercover activities.

In May 14, 1977 he visited the Three Steps pub in Dromintee, before being abducted by IRA members, taken across the border and eventually shot dead the next day.

IRA member Liam Townson, 24, was convicted of Captain Nairac’s murder in November 1977.

His initial police statement began: “I shot the British captain. He never told us anything. He was a great soldier.”

Capt Nairac is posthumously awarded the George Cross in 1979 for his bravery.

After the disappointment in the latest lead on finding his remains, ICLVR lead investigator Jon Hill appealed for further information to aid the search.

“We were searching a relatively small area, less that one acre, and we did so because the information we had was credible,” he said.

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

“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.

“Anyone who has any information that might help should come forward and as the commissioners have made clear that information and their identity will be treated in the strictest confidence.”

He added: “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.

“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.

“Anyone with information on any of the four outstanding Disappeared cases — Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire — should contact the ICLVR.

“All information is treated in the strictest confidence.”

The ICLVR can be contacted by telephone on 00353 1 602 8655, by email at [email protected] or by post at ICLVR PO Box 10827.

Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111 or the untraceable anonymous online form can be found on crimestoppers-uk.org.