A search is taking place in County Louth for the body of a British intelligence officer who was abducted and murdered by the IRA in 1977.

An Oxford graduate, Captain Robert Nairac joined the British Army's Grenadier Guards and was deployed four times to Northern Ireland during his military career.

While undercover in The Three Steps pub in Dromintee in South Armagh, he was kidnapped by the IRA, taken away for questioning and then killed - becoming one of 17 people whose bodies were 'disappeared' during the Troubles. 

He was only 29 years old at the time and was posthumously awarded the UK’s George Cross for bravery.  

"Despite his fierce resistance he was overpowered and taken across the border into the nearby Republic of Ireland," the citation in the London Gazette read.

"He was subjected to a succession of exceptionally savage assaults in an attempt to extract information which would have put other lives and future operations at serious risk. These efforts to break Captain Nairac’s will failed entirely."

Captain Robert Nairac. Picture by: Alamy.com 

Ever since, rumours have swirled about what happened to his body but officials have ruled out the most lurid - that it was fed into a meat grinder. 

Today, the dig for the remains is taking place in the Faughart area, which is a short distance from where he was abducted.

Lead investigator into the so-called ‘Disappeared’, Jon Hill, said now is the first time they have had enough information to conduct a search.

“Unfortunately, the information that brought us to this search wasn’t available until recently,” he said. 

“This is an amalgamation of information that developed more recently. 

“So, we’re now at a stage where we believe that information is credible and we can undertake a search. 

“If we were in that position 10-years ago, it would have been undertaken then.” 

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains was founded by the British and Irish Government in 1999 in an effort to find the 17 victims of the Troubles who were killed by republicans and whose bodies were secretly buried. 

In the 25 years since then, the bodies of 13 of the ‘Disappeared’ have been located with four still missing. 

Main image: Robert Nairac. Picture by: British Ministry of Defence