A search for the remains of an Irish teacher who was living in France and was killed over 30 years ago by an Irish republican paramilitary organisation has begun (Tuesday 2 May) in a forest in Pont-de-l’Arche outside Rouen.

 

Seamus Ruddy was teaching in Paris when he was abducted by the Irish National Liberation Army  (INLA) in May 1985.

 

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) which was set up jointly by the UK and Irish Governments as part of the peace process in Northern Ireland to find the remains of people killed and secretly buried during the conflict is conducting the search.

 

The search team consists of experts specialising in recoveries of this nature and have been engaged in this type of work since 2006.

 

The work of the ICLVR is entirely humanitarian in nature and its sole concern is the location and recovery of the remains of those secretly buried so that they can be returned to their families for Christian burial.

 

Anyone giving information to the ICLVR about the location of remains is guaranteed complete confidentiality and that information cannot be used by any other agency.

 

It was revealed in 1999 that fifteen men and one woman, Jean McConville, had been abducted, killed and secretly buried, all apart from Mr Ruddy, by the IRA.

 

Since then twelve bodies have been recovered seven of them by the ICLVR the most recent in 2015.

 

The head of the ICLVR, Geoff Knupfer said:

 

“ All of the bodies were buried in Ireland except that of Seamus Ruddy.

 

We are extremely grateful to the French authorities for their co-operation which allows this search to take place.

 

Our specialist contractors and forensic archaeologists will be on site from Tuesday (2 May) to search an area of around 5000 square metres.

 

We only search on the basis that we have credible information that we are in the right place.

 

We think the information that we are working on is as accurate as it can be given the passage of time.

 

We hope and pray with the family of Seamus that we can find him.”

 

Ends.

 

Contact Dennis Godfrey (ICLVR): +44 7771 642348