A pall of thick fog began to envelope the small village of Grangecon near the Kildare/Wicklow border and the surrounding countryside on Monday as the red evening sky receded.
With darkness descending there was very little activity in the village except for the odd passing car and the sound of dogs barking in the distance.
Inside their homes, locals were coming to terms with the news that a man had been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Jo Jo Dullard on November 6th, 1995. when she was 21. Land in the area is being searched and two homes have also been searched, while a suspect is being questioned.
John Coogan (77), a retired builder’s labourer who has lived on the main street in the village for years, remembers when Jo Jo went missing. “That was the worst of all times, it was a terrible time, you know, there was a big search party at that time,” he says.
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Mr Coogan, who plays the harmonica for the residents of a nursing home in nearby Baltinglass each Wednesday, is thinking of Jo Jo’s family this week.
“She was a lovely, lovely person. It’s terrible, that poor unfortunate girl, there’ll be a lot of going on in the next few days. They [Jo Jo’s family] wanted to bring her back for a burial,” he notes.
Further up main street two women, who did not wish to be named, are preparing to make their way home. “I’m very shocked, shocked that something like that is happening on your doorstep, but hopeful that something will be finally found for the family’s sake, at least something is being done now,” says the younger woman.
She had also heard of the searches of the land in the area and the two homes. “I’ve heard there’s lots [of activity] up around there at the moment,” the younger woman says.
The last known interaction Jo Jo had was in the village of Moone, across the border in Kildare, as recalled by the older woman: “She made a phone call from the old phone box in Moone. She [Jo Jo] said: ‘I’ve got a lift now’. If only she had knocked on any door in Moone or the pub, they would have taken her in.”
Over in Moone, famous for its eighth-century high cross, on a biting cold night the atmosphere was similarly sombre and reflective. An elderly woman and man from the area, who also preferred not to be named, reflected on the impact the disappearance of Jo Jo has had on the locality, as they waited for a meeting in the village to end.
“She is always thought about in Moone,” said the woman. “It’s the first thing people ask us, if they hear you’re from Moone, ‘oh that’s where the little girl went missing’,” said the man.
In the High Cross Inn, a few kilometres south of the village, locals discussed the recent developments, even if some were not even born at the time of Jo Jo’s disappearance.
Scaffolder John Foster (35) from Ballitore, Co Kildare, was “very young” at the time but has heard many stories about the girl’s disappearance. “It was so uncommon at the time, I would like to see a resolution to the case for Jo Jo’s family,” he said.
Eoin Furlong (29) lives in Dunlavin, back across the border in Wicklow, but is originally from Dublin. “We moved down in 2002, I’d know the area there near Grangecon. It must be terrible hard on the family, it was a different world back then,” he said.
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