Ireland IRA
A forensic excavator speaks to family members of Brendan McGraw at a site on Oristown bog, near Kells in Ireland Reuters

Human remains found in County Meath in Ireland last month have been confirmed as those of IRA murder victim Brendan Megraw, one of 16 victims who were named "the Disappeared".

Megraw's remains were found in a drainage ditch on Oristown bog, near Kells in County Meath, by contractors working to prepare the area for forensic excavations.

DNA tests have idenified the remains as Megraw and the results were confirmed by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains.

Megraw's brother said the discovery of his remains had been a "long time coming".

The coroner for Dublin is set to authorise the release of the remains to the family after accepting the DNA results as evidence of identification.

Megraw was abducted in Belfast in 1978 at the age of 23 and was murdered by the IRA. Three searches, the last in 2010, had failed to find his remains.

During the Troubles, the Disappeared were murdered and buried in secret locations by republican militants.

The discovery of Megraw's remains brings the number of the Disappeared victims who have been recovered to 11.

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