The family of Mrs Jean McConville, the missing Belfast woman, said last night they hoped that the remains of a woman's body discovered on a beach in Co Louth yesterday were those of their mother.
The remains were discovered in a shallow, foot-deep grave at Shelling Hill beach around lunchtime by a man out walking with children.
A preliminary examination indicated the remains were those of a woman, gardaí said last night. The assessment is based on clothing and other items found.
Mrs McConville was abducted by the IRA fro
m Belfast 31 years ago.
Shelling Hill beach is just a mile from Templetown, which was the focal point for extensive searches by gardaí in the summer of 1999 and 2000 after the IRA, through intermediaries, gave information on the location of secret graves of nine so-called disappeared.
At that time, gardaí searched six places in Louth, Meath, Monaghan and Wicklow for the hidden graves. In one, near Carrickmacross, and after six weeks of digging, they found the double grave containing the remains of John McClory and Brian McKinney.
Ten McConville children were left orphaned after their mother was abducted in December 1972.
Last night, five of the children, many in tears, arrived at the isolated beauty spot and laid flowers and said prayers with the local parish priest, Father Peter McParland.
The body was removed from the scene last night and taken to Louth General Hospital, where a postmortem will take place today.
Gardaí said it could take up to two months for DNA testing to identify the remains.
Mrs McConville's son, Michael (41), said at the scene that he hoped the remains were those of his mother.
He said he did not want to speculate, but he was "hoping for me and the rest of our family" that the discovery would "bring this nightmare to an end".
Mr McConville described the last 30 years as hell and said he had begun to think that his mother's grave would never be found.
He would not be drawn on whether the original information given by the IRA that led to around 60,000 tonnes of sand and gravel, and a car-park, being excavated at Templetown, was wrong.
"I am not worried about the information, whether it was wrong or not, I am just worried there is a body here and whether it is my mother."
In Belfast, Mr Seamus McKendry, whose wife, Helen, is a daughter of the missing woman, said the family was in "turmoil" and was hoping and praying that the remains were those of Jean McConville.
The McKendrys formed Families of the Disappeared in the early 1990s to campaign for the return of missing victims of paramilitary violence.
He said he had suspected that the body of his mother-in-law could have been located on Shelling Hill Beach as it was close to Templetown Beach.
The IRA's insistence that the body was on Templetown Beach had served in preventing a proper search of Shelling Hill Beach, he said.
The president of Sinn Féin, Mr Gerry Adams, is on holiday and unavailable to comment on the possible discovery of the remains of Mrs McConville. A Sinn Féin source, however, said the party was mindful of the "great trauma" the family continues to suffer.
"The family's feelings should be respected and adding to the speculation won't ease what the family is experiencing," he said.
Former SDLP Assembly member Mr Alban Maginness said the thoughts of everyone should be with the McConville family. "One hopes that these remains can be authenticated so that both Jean McConville and her family can have some peace," he said.
A Government spokeswoman said the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, had taken a "huge personal interest" in the case of Mrs McConville. He was conscious the outcome of the examination was awaited and would monitor developments closely.