'He was a soldier and I was his enemy.. but now he should be back with his family'

AN EX-IRA man has vowed to keep trying to help locate the remains of 'Disappeared' soldier Robert Nairac.

- BY REBECCA BLACK

Martin McAllister described the situation as an “open running sore” in south Armagh where the Grenadier Guards captain was last seen alive in 1977.

Information he secured led to the first official search for his remains last year by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR).

Capt Nairac is considered to be part of a group known as the Disappeared, who were killed and secretly buried by paramilitary groups.

The search for his remains in Co Louth ended without success last October.

Mr McAllister said: “This man was a soldier, and I was his enemy, but to disappear somebody is something I never ever agreed with.

“No one should be left in such a position whereby they haven't a grave to visit. This man should be back with his family.”

He has pledged that he will not give up on his search, describing it as a “matter of honour”.

A new BBC film, The Disappearance Of Captain Nairac, hears of his love of Ireland from his friends, from colleagues who saw him as unconventional and locals in south Armagh who nicknamed him “Danny Boy”.