THE remains of Denis Patrick O'Driscoll, the 32 year old Cork man who disappeared from the city in December 1994, were finally laid to rest yesterday in Cork after a harrowing search for him by his family.
Last month a man walking his dog in the Lotabeg area of Cork, in the eastern suburbs, discovered human remains in a shallow mound. They were positively identified as those of Mr O'Driscoll. His family had claimed since his disappearance that he was in possession of some "terrible secret" and that he had died violently.
Mr O'Driscoll was one of three men who vanished without trace from Cork in 1994. The others were Mr Cathal O'Brien (23) of Wexford, who had worked for the city's Simon Community before leaving because of a dispute over policy matters, and Mr Kevin Ball (42), an Englishman who had settled in Cork. The three men were social welfare recipients and lived together occasionally at 9 Wellington Terrace.
Another Cork man, Mr Frederdick Flannery, of no fixed abode, was charged last month with the murder of Mr O'Driscoll, but the case collapsed when the trial judge ruled that vital Garda evidence had not been made available to the defence.
The chief mourners at yesterday's funeral were Mr O'Driscoll's parents, Mrs Eileen and Mr Denis O'Driscoll his sisters, Jean, Marie and Bernie and his brothers, Jim, Noel, Paul and William.