Relatives of Mrs Jean McConville, who was murdered and buried in secret by the IRA, are being pressured to abandon plans to bury her in Belfast's Milltown Cemetery, her son-in-law said last night.
The McConville family is deeply split over the funeral, with some wanting a quiet, private ceremony in Lisburn and others, including her daughter, Mrs Helen McKendry, preferring interment in Milltown.
Mr Séamus McKendry said the IRA in west Belfast is opposed to a public funeral in Milltown because of the bad publicity the event would bring for the paramilitary organisation internationally.
However, a Sinn Féin spokesperson rejected Mr McKendry's charge. "This family have suffered enough over the past 30 years and should be left in peace to bury their mother.
"Suggestions or stories that republicans would add to that grief by attempting to interfere with the funeral arrangements are outrageous and untrue," the spokesperson added.
Mrs McConville's body was found buried in Shelling Hill Beach, near Carlingford, Co Louth in late August, following several searches organised by the Garda dating back to 1999.
The 37-year-old mother of 10 was abducted, beaten and shot in the head by the IRA in 1972, after she went to the aid of a fatally wounded British soldier outside her front door in west Belfast.
Mrs McKendry wants to bury her mother in a family grave, alongside her daughter, Ann, in Milltown near the Republican Plot, which includes the graves of many IRA members killed during the Troubles.
Mrs McKendry's husband, speaking to The Irish Times last night, said: "What is wrong with that? Those coming to see the IRA graves will also see another grave of one who was murdered and disappeared by the IRA for 31 years.
"We believe that there is pressure coming on other members of the family. It would be very hard to prove it. I accept that, but it is there. It is palpable."
Mrs McConville's burial could take place in Belfast next weekend, her son-in-law said, once two DNA samples taken from her remains are returned from a Birmingham laboratory.
The DNA samples, which were examined for weeks by laboratory specialists before they were able to formally identify the skeletal remains, should be sent back "by Thursday, or Friday".
Large numbers of people have already made clear their determination to attend the funeral. "We have had phone calls from dozens of people. People want to come from as far as the US, Canada and Australia," Mr McKendry said.
Outside mediators have been drafted to help the family reach an agreed solution.
A number of Mrs McConville's children want her to be buried in private in Lisburn next to her husband. "That can't happen, because the grave is full and the paperwork has been lost," Mr McKendry said.
