The father of missing Armagh man Gareth O'Connor - allegedly murdered by the IRA - has said he hopes that his son could soon be given a Christian burial.
Mark O'Connor said yesterday he did not know for sure if the body recovered from a car found at the weekend in the Newry Canal was that of his son, although police sources said it was almost certain that it was.
A postmortem on the body was being arranged yesterday.
While formal identification could take some time, depending on the condition of the remains, Mr O'Connor said he hoped the body was that of his son, as it would allow himself and his family to properly grieve for him.
"We have always suspected that Gareth was dead.
"If this is his body then at least we will be able to give him a Christian burial Mr O'Connor told The Irish Times. that is what we always wanted,".
The body was found after a detailed search of Newry Canal on the Omeath Road near Newry on Saturday.
First, a blue Volkswagen Golf car, similar to the vehicle Gareth O'Connor was travelling in when he disappeared in May 2003, was discovered by police scuba divers. When the car was lifted from the canal, police were able to confirm that a body was inside. The vehicle was taken away for forensic examination.
Gareth O'Connor (24), the father of two children, went missing as he drove to Dundalk to answer bail conditions on charges of Real IRA membership. It is believed that he was abducted somewhere near Newtownhamilton in Co Armagh.
Suspicion quickly focused on the IRA, although the republican organisation denied it was responsible for his disappearance or suspected death.
Mark O'Connor said yesterday that he was sure the IRA killed his son.
"I am 100 per cent certain they did it. Why should I believe their denials? I have no respect for them," he said.
The PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde said if the postmortem examination revealed that it was Gareth O'Connor, then it would be a major breakthrough.
"It's one of the things we've been looking for, for two years. It certainly reinforces our commitment to bringing this case to a closure," he told BBC Radio Ulster yesterday.
He said IRA involvement in the murder "had been and would continue to be a major line of inquiry".
