Gerard Evans (1955–1979) was one of the "Disappeared" of

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

. Having gone missing in March 1979, his body was recovered 31 years later in October 2010.

Early life

Gerard Evans, known as "Gerry", was a 24-year-old painter and decorator from

Crossmaglen Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Ir ...

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Disappearance

Evans was kidnapped by the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

in March 1979 whilst hitch-hiking in the Castleblaney neighbourhood in

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. After a lengthy questioning involving a party of twelve local PIRA members on the accusation of being an

intelligence agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

for the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

in the Armagh/Monaghan district, Evans was taken at night into the

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

landscape, where, after pleading for mercy from his kidnappers, and being permitted to make a last prayer, he was shot in the back of the head. His body was afterwards illicitly buried in an unmarked grave in a

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muske ...

at Carrickrobbin, near Hackballcross in County Louth, five miles from his home in Crossmaglen, the decision having been taken by the Provisional IRA to deny involvement with his disappearance and conceal the evidence of his murder to avoid alienating the community of the village of Crossmaglen, where the surname of Evans was common.

Recovery of the body

In October 2010 the ''

Sunday Tribune The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to ta ...

'' journalist

Suzanne Breen Suzanne Breen (born 1967) is an Irish people, Irish journalist. Career Suzanne Breen graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with an honours degree in English and Politics in 1989 and went on to take the National Council for the Training of J ...

published a story that she had received information about the location of Evans' body from an ex-member of the Provisional IRA's "South Armagh Brigade", the source also giving the details of Evans' kidnap and murder. After an extensive search of the vicinity indicated the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

located Evans' body on 15 October 2010. The source stated that their decision in coming forward with the information was influenced by the 2007 murder of Paul Quinn. Evans' funeral took place at St. Patrick's Church in Crossmaglen on 4 December 2010; he was buried in the church's graveyard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Gerard 1970s missing person cases 1955 births 1979 deaths People murdered in 1979 British people murdered abroad Deaths by firearm in the Republic of Ireland House painters Kidnapped people from Northern Ireland Missing people from Northern Ireland Formerly missing British people Formerly missing Irish people Missing person cases in Ireland Murder victims from County Armagh People declared dead in absentia People from Crossmaglen People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army Terrorism deaths in the Republic of Ireland Disappeared (Northern Ireland)

Early life

Disappearance

Recovery of the body

See also

References