Gardaí are investigating whether skeletal remains found in Cork are linked to the disappearance of a 47-year-old man last year.

The remains were found by a Garda search dog team in a shallow grave off the Midleton to Whitegate Road at lunchtime yesterday.

The area was closed for a technical exam while the skeletal remains were taken to the morgue at Cork University Hospital.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster is to conduct a post-mortem later today to determine the identity of the body and cause of death.

Missing man

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, The Irish Independent's Southern Correspondent Ralph Reigel said Gardaí are “playing their hands very close to their chest”.

“It is believed they are examining if there is a link in the discovery of these remains and the disappearance of a 47-year-old Cork man Kieran Quilligan on September 1st last year,” he said.

“From the very beginning, Gardaí were very concerned for the safety of Mr Quilligan.

“He was last seen moving from Anderson Quay’s in Cork City Centre to an area over Proby’s Quay.”

CCTV

From there, Mr Reigel said the missing man's movements were caught on CCTV cameras.

“He was seen walking with an individual but interestingly he was never seen emerging from the property he went into and Gardaí believe he may very well have left that property in a vehicle,” he said.

“They were very concerned for his welfare and on foot of those concerns, a search was conducted in an area of east Cork, roughly 25-30km away from where the remains were discovered yesterday.

“That search last year yielded nothing but Gardai have stressed that they are very concerned for Mr Quilligan's welfare.”

Main image: The exterior of the Garda Station in Bandon, West Cork, Ireland. Image: Andy Gibson/Alamy