Sister of Jo Jo Dullard says she hopes the public think of her in Easter appeal for information

Sarah Slater

A sister of missing Kilkenny woman Jo Jo Dullard, who was presumed murdered, has said that she hopes members of the public “think” of her over Easter as she “still has not finished her journey home to us".

The 21-year-old was last seen 29 years ago at around 11.37pm on November 9th, 1995, in the village of Moone, Co Kildare, while attempting to make her way home to Callan, Co Kilkenny.

She had missed the last direct bus back to Kilkenny and had been hitching lifts from Naas, Co Kildare, where she managed to get a bus to.

The young woman was using a public phone in Moone when she told a friend, Mary Cullinane, that a car had stopped and she was going to get a lift. That was the last known sighting of her.

She was the youngest of five siblings. Her father, John, died before she was born, and her mother, Nora, died in 1983 from cancer. Since Ms Dullard’s disappearance, her sister Mary Phelan died in 2018, not knowing what happened to her.

For three-and-a-half weeks last November, a major garda excavation of land near Grangecon in Co Wicklow was conducted to locate her body or any evidence to show she may have been there.

A man in his 50s was the first person arrested on suspicion of the murder of Ms Dullard but was released without charge.

Her sister Kathleen Bergin said in a post on the official Jo Jo Dullard Missing Person Facebook page: “To be able to lay her to rest beside Mam is all we want. Every piece is important in finding Jo and bringing her home.

“Easter is a time of hope, and we will never give up hope that you will finally make it home.”

Mrs Bergin added, “We would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter and thank you all for your continued support and prayers.”

She continued that she knows her sister is “surrounded by Mary, Tom, Mam, Dad and one of your best friends Esther this Easter. I still have a vivid memory of you and Mam baking buns in the kitchen while (the song) Bare Necessities from the Jungle Book, played in the background. I hope you're giggling with everyone up in heaven just like you were then.’

The Kilkenny woman appealed again for anyone with information to “please come forward with any information you have, no matter how small or insignificant you may think it is. Every piece is important in finding Jo and bringing her home.”

In October 2020, gardaí upgraded the investigation into her disappearance to a murder probe.

A subsequent three-week-long large-scale search almost five years ago of Usk Little on the Kildare/Wicklow border, a woodland area, was investigated by gardaí after fresh information came to light.

Gardaí have said they are “resolute in their determination to find answers for her family”.

On the 29th anniversary of Ms Dullard’s disappearance in November, her family, led by her sister, held a memorial ceremony at the statue dedicated to missing people in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Naas Garda Station 045 884 300, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any garda station.