31 YEARS WITHOUT ANSWERS: FAMILY OF JO JO DULLARD MARKS HEARTBREAKING ANNIVERSARY AS IRISH POLICE ISSUE NEW APPEAL
IRELAND — More than three decades have passed since 21-year-old Josephine “Jo Jo” Dullard disappeared while trying to make her way home after a night out in Dublin. Her family is still waiting for answers — and investigators are once again asking the public to come forward with information that could finally help solve the case.
On November 9, 2026, the anniversary of her disappearance, Jo Jo’s family, friends and members of the local community gathered at Kilkenny Castle in Ireland to remember her.
The memorial came as An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police service, renewed its appeal for information about what happened to the young woman after her final known telephone call on the night she vanished.
Her family says they have never stopped thinking about her.
“Not a day goes by where we don’t think of her,” loved ones wrote in a message ahead of the anniversary.
They added that they continue to keep “the candle of hope lit” that their missing loved ones will one day find their way home.
THE NIGHT JO JO DISAPPEARED
Jo Jo was 21 and living in Callan, County Kilkenny, when she travelled to Dublin on November 9, 1995.
That evening, she spent time socialising at Bruxelles Bar on Harry Street, near Grafton Street.
After missing her last bus home to Kilkenny, she boarded a bus to Naas, County Kildare, at approximately 10 p.m. Her plan was to hitchhike the remaining distance home.
She managed to get a lift from Naas to the area of what is now the M9 motorway slip road at Kilcullen.
At approximately 11:15 p.m., she secured another lift, this time to the village of Moone, County Kildare.
It was there that she made a telephone call to her friend, Mary Cullinan, at 11:37 p.m.
During the conversation, Jo Jo explained that a car had stopped and that she was going to accept a lift.
That was the last known contact with her.
She never arrived home.
The following morning, November 10, her sister Kathleen reported her missing to police.
A CASE RECLASSIFIED AS MURDER
For years, Jo Jo’s disappearance remained an unresolved missing-person investigation.
In November 2020, on the 25th anniversary of her disappearance, Gardaí announced that the case had been reclassified as a murder investigation.
Investigators said they were satisfied that serious harm had come to Jo Jo on or around the night of November 9, 1995.
Despite years of investigative work, no one has been brought to justice for her murder.
According to Gardaí, nearly 800 recommendations have been identified during the investigation. These have helped generate additional lines of inquiry, which have been pursued by the team based at Naas Garda Station, with support from the Serious Crime Review Team.
FRESH SEARCHES HAVE NOT YET PROVIDED ANSWERS
The investigation has continued to include searches of locations where investigators believe relevant information may be found.
In June 2026, Gardaí carried out searches of open ground at a location near the Wicklow–Kildare border. The operation was connected to investigations into the disappearances and murders of both Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob.
The searches concluded in early July. However, authorities said the results would not be released for operational reasons.
The latest searches have not publicly produced answers about Jo Jo’s fate.
POLICE WANT TO TRACE A MISSING CASSETTE PLAYER
In its latest appeal, Gardaí highlighted several specific details they hope members of the public may remember.
Jo Jo had a Sanyo Stereo cassette player, model MGP21, with her on the night she disappeared.
Investigators want to know whether anyone saw the device after November 9, 1995, or whether anyone received such a cassette player from another person who could not explain where it came from.
Police are also appealing to anyone who was hitchhiking around Moone at the end of October or beginning of November 1995.
Equally, they want to hear from anyone who may have given a lift to a hitchhiker in that area during the same period.
Gardaí are particularly interested in speaking to anyone who met, saw or had contact with Jo Jo after 11:37 p.m. on the night she disappeared.
They are also asking people who previously provided information but may not have felt able to share everything they knew to contact investigators again.
HER FAMILY IS STILL WAITING TO BRING HER HOME
Jo Jo’s disappearance has left her family living with uncertainty for 31 years.
Her sister Kathleen Bergin has previously made emotional appeals, urging anyone who knows something to speak up, even after so much time has passed.
The family has said its greatest wish is to find Jo Jo’s remains and bring her home so she can finally be laid to rest beside her parents.
For those who loved her, the anniversary is not simply a date on the calendar. It is another reminder of a life interrupted and a family still waiting for answers.
Gardaí say their determination to establish what happened to Jo Jo and bring the person responsible to justice remains unchanged.
HOW TO HELP
Anyone with information about Jo Jo Dullard’s disappearance or murder is urged to contact:
- Naas Garda Station: 045 884 300
- Any Garda station in Ireland
- Garda Confidential Line: 1800 666 111
Investigators stress that even information that may seem small or insignificant could be important.
After 31 years, Jo Jo’s family is still asking the same question: What happened after that final phone call in Moone?
And somewhere, someone may still hold a piece of the answer.
