The daughter of Mrs Jean McConville, an IRA murder victim, has asked for a meeting to be arranged between her and the IRA. The excavations for the remains of Mrs McConville and the other seven "disappeared" are now in their 25th day.
Speaking from Templetown beach in Co Louth yesterday, Ms Helen McKendry said she has asked one of the priests acting as a go-between for a meeting with the IRA as soon as possible.
"The go-between told me he has been back in touch with the IRA for the fourth time and they told him that Templetown beach is the right location but the whereabouts they are not sure of."
The IRA also said it had buried her mother there in 1972, after she was abducted and murdered leaving 10 children.
If it goes ahead, it will be the second meeting she has had with the IRA. At the last one the IRA told her mother was an innocent woman and she had been murdered by it. However, Ms McKendry says that when the IRA admitted this and the killings of the other disappeared people it also claimed her mother was an informer.
Her family says she was murdered for comforting a wounded British soldier lying outside her front door.
Ms McKendry's brother, Robert, says that the British authorities have specialised scanning equipment which would greatly help the excavations. "We are going to request that scanning equipment from the UK be used. Sir Kenneth Bloomfield said that all the Irish Government has to do is to request it," he said.
Sir Kenneth and the former Tanaiste, Mr John Wilson, have visited the excavations at Templetown, which now measure about 150 metres by 30 metres. Yesterday Chief Supt Michael Finnegan said the gardai were committed to finishing the excavation of the car-park.