Charles Armstrong was a 55 year old labourer from
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Irel ...
who disappeared on 16 August 1981.
It is suspected that he was abducted and killed by the
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
,
a victim of
enforced disappearance
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...
. No reason, in this case, has ever been publicly given. Armstrong and his wife Kathleen had five children.
Armstrong's body was retrieved in July 2010, in a bog near Aughrim More and his funeral took place on 18 September 2010.
Disappearance
On the day Armstrong disappeared, his wife walked with their daughters to
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
, where they had planned to meet him after he drove a friend to it.
[ He did not appear and it was only when they got home that they discovered that he had not met their friend. Initially, it was thought that he had had an accident, so his family and friends searched the area, but there was no sign of him. The next day, a friend phoned the family to tell them that his car had been found outside a cinema in ]Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
.[
His name did not appear on a list of nine people whose disappearances the ]Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
admitted responsibility for in 1999. Gerry Adams
Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020 ...
, president of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
, denied that the IRA was responsible, but journalist Suzanne Breen claimed that she had been contacted by a member of the IRA who said that the IRA was responsible.
Searches
In 2001, a search for his body produced no results.[ In July 2010, a group searching for Armstrong announced that they had found human remains in ]County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...
. The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains
The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) was established by treaty between the Her Majesty's Government, United Kingdom Government and the Government of Ireland, made on 27 April 1999 in connection with the affairs o ...
said that it had found the remains early on the afternoon of 29 July 2010 in the townland of Aughrim More, on the County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...
side of Cullaville
Cullaville or Culloville ( or McCulloch's ville or town is a small village and townland near Crossmaglen in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the southernmost settlement in the county and one of the southernmost in Northern Ireland, straddlin ...
.
This search was carried out after the Commission had received anonymously a map indicating an area which had not been searched before for Armstrong's body.[ In September 2010, the Independent Commission confirmed that the remains found were those of Charles Armstrong.]
See also
*Disappeared (Northern Ireland)
The Disappeared are people believed to have been abducted, murdered and secretly buried in Northern Ireland, the large majority of which occurred during the Troubles. The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) is in ...
*Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains
The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) was established by treaty between the Her Majesty's Government, United Kingdom Government and the Government of Ireland, made on 27 April 1999 in connection with the affairs o ...
*List of solved missing persons cases
Lists of solved missing person cases include:
* List of solved missing person cases: pre-2000
* List of solved missing person cases: post-2000
See also
* List of kidnappings
* List of murder convictions without a body
* List of people who di ...
*Thomas Murphy (Irish republican)
Thomas Murphy ( ga, Tomás Mac Murchaidh: born 26 August 1949), also known as Slab, is an Irish republican, believed to be a former Chief of Staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. His farm straddles County Armagh and County Louth o ...
*Gerard Evans
Gerard Evans (1955–1979) was one of the "Disappeared" of the Troubles. Having gone missing in March 1979, his body was recovered 31 years later in October 2010.
Early life
Gerard Evans, known as "Gerry", was a 24-year-old painter and decorat ...
*Columba McVeigh
Columba McVeigh (1956 – 1 November 1975) was a youth from Northern Ireland who was abducted and most likely murdered by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). He was listed as one of the "Disappeared" by the Independent Commission for the ...
*Murder of Jean McConville
Jean McConville (''née'' Murray; 7 May 1934 – December 1972) was a woman from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who was kidnapped and murdered by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and secretly buried in County Louth in the Republic of Ire ...
*Disappearance of Peter Wilson
Peter Wilson (1952 – 1 August 1973) was a man from Northern Ireland who was abducted and killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The IRA never gave any explanation for his abduction and murder. His body was not found for 37 years, and ...
*Robert Nairac
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), Captain Robert Laurence Nairac (31 August 1948 – 15 May 1977) was a British Army officer in the Grenadier Guards who was abducted from a pub in Dromintee, south County Armagh, during an undercover oper ...
*Murder of Gareth O'Connor
Gareth Paul O'Connor (1978/1979 – c. May 2003) was a member of the Real IRA who was murdered in 2003.
Disappearance
O'Connor disappeared after driving through Newtownhamilton in 2003, en route to Dundalk Garda station, where he regularly r ...
*Internal Security Unit
The Internal Security Unit (ISU) was the counter-intelligence and interrogation unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). This unit was often referred to as the Nutting Squad.
The unit is thought to have had jurisdiction over both No ...
References
External links
"Looking for Charlie"
guardian.co.uk
thedisappearedni.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Charles
1920s births
1980s missing person cases
1980s crimes in Northern Ireland
1981 deaths
1981 murders in the United Kingdom
Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland
Enforced disappearances in Northern Ireland
Formerly missing people
Kidnapped people from Northern Ireland
Missing person cases in Northern Ireland
People declared dead in absentia
People from Crossmaglen
Terrorism deaths in Northern Ireland
The Troubles in County Armagh