Protest over missing Irish man

The family of a Co Mayo man, who has been missing in the Netherlands since 2008, has vowed to not “go away” until they see progress in the investigation into his disappearance.

James Grealis, from Achill Island, was last seen leaving his bed and breakfast accommodation in Amsterdam on Thursday morning, October 23rd, 2008.

His parents spoke to him that morning but he not been seen or heard from since. His mobile phone has not been used since that day nor his bank accounts accessed. He would be 28 years of age now.

The Grealis family has been unhappy with the Dutch police investigation into the disappearance. His three sisters and about 50 supporters staged a protest outside the Dutch embassy in Dublin and handed a letter in for the ambassador today.

The sisters - Helen Grealis, Caroline O’Donnell and Bernadette Spandler - had a ten-minute meeting with the ambassador, Robert Engels. Ms Grealis said they had asked the ambassador to convey their concerns about the lack of progress to the Dutch authorities.

Mr Engels said the meeting had been “very dignified”. “I received their petition and letters and I will refer these on. I very much understand their emotion about the situation,” he said.

The sisters and supporters then walked to Leinster House, where they were met by a number of politicians, including Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin, Michael Ring and Frank Feighan of Fine Gael, Dara Calleary of Fianna Fail and Independent Luke Flanagan.

They had hoped to see the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore but neither was available.

Speaking to Mr Martin, Ms Grealis said the family could not continue without some sense of progress.

“We can’t continue like this. The Dutch have been ignoring us. We can’t sit back and go away. We won’t. We have to keep the pressure on about this.”

She said Mr Engels had assured the family he would report back on his contact with Dutch authorities about their brother’s case “in three to four weeks”.