31 YEARS AFTER JO JO DULLARD VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE, POLICE ISSUE A NEW APPEAL AS HER FAMILY CONTINUES TO WAIT FOR ANSWERS

More than three decades after 21-year-old Josephine “Jo Jo” Dullard disappeared while trying to make her way home from Dublin, her family is still searching for answers. Now, on the 31st anniversary of her disappearance, Irish police have renewed their appeal for information, hoping someone will finally come forward with the missing piece of the case.

On November 9, 1995, Josephine “Jo Jo” Dullard, a 21-year-old woman from Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland, disappeared while travelling home after spending an evening in Dublin.

What began as a journey home turned into one of Ireland’s enduring missing-person investigations. More than 30 years later, her whereabouts remain unknown, and no one has been brought to justice for her murder.

THE NIGHT JO JO DISAPPEARED

On the evening of November 9, 1995, Jo Jo travelled to Dublin and spent time socialising at Bruxelles Bar on Harry Street, near Grafton Street.

She had intended to return home to Callan, County Kilkenny, but missed her last bus.

At approximately 10 p.m., she boarded another bus heading to Naas, County Kildare, planning to hitchhike the remaining distance home.

From Naas, she managed to get a lift to what is now the slip road on the M9 motorway at Kilcullen. At approximately 11:15 p.m., she accepted another lift, this time travelling to the village of Moone, also in County Kildare.

It was there that Jo Jo made what would become her final known contact with anyone.

At 11:37 p.m., she called her friend Mary Cullinan from a public telephone box. During the conversation, Jo Jo explained that a car had stopped for her and that she was going to accept the lift.

After that call, she vanished.

No confirmed contact, sighting or trace of Jo Jo has ever established what happened to her.

HER FAMILY REPORTED HER MISSING THE FOLLOWING MORNING

On Friday, November 10, 1995, Jo Jo’s sister Kathleen reported her missing to Gardaí, Ireland’s national police service.

Jo Jo was the youngest of five children. Her father, John, had died before she was born, while her mother, Nora, passed away from cancer in 1983.

Her siblings were sisters Mary, Nora and Kathleen, and brother Thomas.

The disappearance left her family facing decades of unanswered questions. As the years passed, the hope of discovering what happened to Jo Jo never disappeared.

Her sister Kathleen Bergin has continued to campaign for information and has repeatedly appealed to the public to help bring her sister home.

THE CASE WAS RECLASSIFIED AS MURDER IN 2020

For years, Jo Jo’s disappearance was investigated as a missing-person case.

However, on the 25th anniversary in November 2020, An Garda Síochána officially confirmed that the investigation had been reclassified as a murder investigation.

Police said they were satisfied that serious harm had come to Jo Jo on or around the night of November 9, 1995.

Despite the change in classification and years of investigative work, no person has been brought to justice for her murder.

The investigation continues under a team based at Naas Garda Station, with assistance from the Serious Crime Review Team of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

According to Gardaí, nearly 800 recommendations have been identified during the investigation. These have generated new lines of enquiry, which have been pursued by investigators.

NEW SEARCHES CONDUCTED NEAR THE WICKLOW-KILDARE BORDER

The investigation has continued to develop, with several search operations carried out over the years.

Earlier in 2026, investigators conducted searches of an area of open ground in County Wicklow, close to the Wicklow-Kildare border.

The search operation was connected to the separate investigations into the disappearances and murders of Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob.

In February 2026, Gardaí confirmed that the then-current phase of searches at the location had concluded, while further assessment of the site remained ongoing.

The searches have not publicly provided a confirmed answer about what happened to Jo Jo.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS MARK 31 YEARS WITHOUT ANSWERS

On Sunday, November 8, 2026, family members, friends and local residents gathered at Kilkenny Castle to remember Jo Jo ahead of the 31st anniversary of her disappearance.

The memorial gathering included a walk to the missing persons’ memorial within the castle grounds, where a service was held in her memory.

The gathering came just days after her loved ones expressed how deeply they continue to miss her.

The family shared a message of hope, saying:

“We keep the candle of hope lit that our loved ones will find their way home.”

Her sister Kathleen Bergin has also made an emotional appeal to anyone who may know something about the case, urging them not to keep information to themselves.

For the family, every passing anniversary is another reminder of a young woman whose life was interrupted and whose fate remains unknown.

POLICE ISSUE A FRESH APPEAL FOR INFORMATION

On the 31st anniversary, Gardaí renewed their appeal for anyone with information about Jo Jo’s disappearance and murder to come forward.

Investigators are particularly interested in several specific details.

1. Anyone who met or saw Jo Jo in Dublin

Gardaí want to hear from anyone who remembers meeting or seeing Jo Jo at Bruxelles Bar on Harry Street on November 9, 1995.

2. Anyone who saw her after 11:37 p.m.

Police are appealing to anyone who met, saw or had any contact with Jo Jo after her final known telephone conversation at 11:37 p.m. that night.

3. Information about her cassette player

Jo Jo was carrying a Sanyo Stereo cassette player, model MGP21, on the night she disappeared.

Investigators want to know whether anyone saw the device after November 9, 1995, or received one from another person who could not explain where it came from.

4. Hitchhikers and drivers in the Moone area

Gardaí are also appealing to anyone who was hitchhiking around Moone, County Kildare, in late October or early November 1995.

Anyone who gave a lift to a hitchhiker in that area during the same period is also being asked to contact investigators.

5. Anyone who may have previously withheld information

Police are urging people who previously spoke to investigators but felt unable to disclose everything they knew to come forward again.

Even a seemingly insignificant detail could help investigators establish what happened.

HOW TO CONTACT THE POLICE

An Garda Síochána says it remains determined to provide answers to Jo Jo’s family and bring the person responsible for her murder to justice.

Anyone with information is asked to contact:

• Naas Garda Station: 045 884 300
• Garda Confidential Line: 1800 666 111
• Alternatively, information can be provided at any Garda station.

More than 31 years have passed since Jo Jo accepted what would become her final known lift in Moone.

Her family is still waiting. Investigators are still searching for answers.

And somewhere, there may be someone who remembers something from that November night in 1995 that could finally help solve the mystery of what happened to Josephine “Jo Jo” Dullard.