The Garda has announced that following fresh information it is to resume its dig for one of the bodies of the disappeared, at Ballynultagh, near Lacken in Co Wicklow.
Gardai originally dug for three weeks at Ballynultagh, a remote mountain area near the Blessington lakes. The dig was suspended after three weeks last month when the Garda decided that more precise information was necessary.
The information had been given to a priest, who in turn indicated a spot to a member of the commission set up to locate the remains of IRA victims.
It now appears that since the dig was stopped the IRA was able to revisit the site and provide more accurate information as to the likely whereabouts of the body.
In a short statement yesterday the Garda said it was "resuming searching at Ballynultagh, Lacken, Blessington, Co Wicklow, as a result of new information received via the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains. The new search area is approximately 150 yards from the original search area."
A Garda spokesman added that work would begin on clearing the search area before the dig proper would start. He described the mood as optimistic, although he acknowledged that "it is very, very difficult work for those involved".
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