THE SISTER of Jo Jo Dullard has appealed for information on the 29th anniversary of her sibling’s disappearance, pleading: “We need to bring her home.”
Ms Dullard, then aged 21, went missing after hitch-hiking home to Co. Kilkenny from Dublin on the night of November 9, 1995.
No one has ever been arrested over Ms Dullard’s disappearance, which gardaí have since classified as a murder investigation.
However, speaking on Saturday, Superintendent Liam Geraghty revealed that investigators are following up ‘new lines of inquiry’.
Disappearance
On the night she went missing, Miss Dullard travelled to Dublin, where she spent the evening socialising in Bruxelles Bar on Harry Street.
After missing her last bus home to Co. Kilkenny, she boarded a bus to Naas, Co. Kildare at 10pm, intending to hitch-hike from there to her home in Callan.
From Naas, Ms Dullard hitched a lift to the slip road on the M9 motorway at Kilcullen, Co. Kildare.
Ms Dullard was hitch-hiking home to Co. Kilkenny from Dublin (Images: An Garda Síochána)At around 11.15pm she hitched another lift to Moone in Co. Kildare, from where she called a friend at 11.37pm.
During the call, she told the friend that a car had stopped for her and she was going to take the lift.
The call was the last known interaction with Ms Dullard and her sister Kathleen Bergin reported her missing the following morning.
Despite a sustained garda investigation over the years, no one has been arrested in connection with the case.
However, in November 2020, on the 25th anniversary of Ms Dullard’s disappearance, gardaí confirmed that they were treating the case as a murder investigation.
Investigators said they were satisfied that serious harm had come to Ms Dullard on or about the night of November 9, 1995.
‘She’s out there somewhere’
Speaking on Saturday, Ms Bergin revealed the devastation her sister’s disappearance has had on the family.
“That day she went to Dublin, our lives changed forever,” she said.
“She’s out there somewhere and we need to bring her home.”
She added: “You’d often wonder what went through her mind when she realised that [she was] not going to get back home again.
“I can only imagine the fear that she was going through.”
Ms Bergin appealed for anyone with information to come forward, saying the family just want to lay their loved one to rest.
“After all these years I think she deserves this, she deserves to be brought home and laid to rest beside Mam and Dad,” she said.
“Every one of us wants to see Jo Jo brought home.
“Somebody has information out there — whether it is did they hear somebody talking, did they see something that night — and we would ask them to look into their hearts to please find the strength and the courage to come forward, tell us what they know.
“Even if they think it’s only something very small, it could be the piece of the jigsaw that we’re looking for.”
She added: “Come forward and help us bring her home, that’s it, that’s all we want.”
Stereo appeal
Supt Geraghty said that the investigation has progressed over the years, with nearly 800 recommendations identified.
“These recommendations have informed and generated new lines of inquiry, which have been actioned by the investigation team based at Naas Garda Station under the direction of the Senior Investigating Officer and assisted by An Garda Síochána’s serious crime review team,” he said.
“Twenty-nine years later, An Garda Síochána continue to appeal to the public for any information on the disappearance and murder of Jo Jo Dullard on November 9, 1995.
“Gardaí are appealing to anyone that met, saw or has any information in relation to the murder of Jo Jo after 11.37pm on the night of November 9, 1995 and who has not spoken to gardaí to please come forward.
A Sanyo stereo cassette player like the one Ms Dullard had when she went missing“Do you remember meeting Jo Jo? Jo Jo had her Sanyo stereo cassette player, model MGP21, with her on November 9, 1995. Did anyone see this cassette player after November 9, 1995?
“Did anyone receive such a cassette player from a friend or a person that could not tell you from where they received it?”
He added: “Jo Jo’s family have now suffered from her disappearance for 29 years.
“An Garda Síochána is resolute in our determination to provide answers for Jo Jo’s family and bring her murderer to justice.”
Anyone with information on Ms Dullard’s disappearance and murder is urged to contact Naas Garda Station on 045 884 300, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666111 or any garda station.