31 YEARS WITHOUT ANSWERS: JO JO DULLARD DISAPPEARED WHILE TRYING TO GET HOME — NOW POLICE HAVE ISSUED A NEW APPEAL
KILKENNY, IRELAND — More than three decades have passed since 21-year-old Josephine “Jo Jo” Dullard vanished while making her way home after an evening out in Dublin. Her family has spent 31 years living with unanswered questions, holding onto hope that one day they will finally discover what happened to her.
Now, on the anniversary of her disappearance, Irish police have issued a renewed appeal for information, hoping that someone who knows something about Jo Jo’s final movements will finally come forward.
Her disappearance, which was officially reclassified as a murder investigation in 2020, remains one of Ireland’s enduring unsolved cases.
THE NIGHT JO JO NEVER MADE IT HOME
On November 9, 1995, Jo Jo travelled from her hometown of Callan, County Kilkenny, to Dublin.
That evening, she spent time socializing at Bruxelles Bar on Harry Street, near Grafton Street in Dublin.
When it was time to return home, she missed the last bus to Kilkenny.
Rather than stay in Dublin, Jo Jo boarded a bus to Naas, County Kildare, at approximately 10 p.m. Her intention was to hitchhike the remaining distance to Callan.
She managed to get a lift from Naas to an area near what is now the M9 motorway slip road at Kilcullen.
At approximately 11:15 p.m., she secured another lift, this time travelling to Moone, County Kildare.
It was there that she made what would become her final known telephone call.
THE FINAL PHONE CALL AT 11:37 P.M.
At 11:37 p.m., Jo Jo called her friend Mary Cullinan from a telephone box in Moone.
During the conversation, she explained that a car had stopped and that she was going to accept a lift.
That was the last known contact anyone had with her.
No confirmed account of what happened after she entered that vehicle has ever been established.
The following morning, Friday, November 10, her sister Kathleen reported her missing.
Jo Jo was just 21 years old.
Her sudden disappearance devastated her family. Her father had died before she was born, and her mother had passed away from cancer in 1983. She was the youngest of five siblings, with sisters Mary, Nora and Kathleen, and brother Thomas.
For the family, the disappearance meant losing a loved one without knowing whether she was alive, where she had gone or what had happened during those final hours.
A MISSING-PERSON CASE BECOMES A MURDER INVESTIGATION
For years, investigators worked to establish what had happened to Jo Jo.
Then, in November 2020, on the 25th anniversary of her disappearance, An Garda Síochána confirmed that the case had been reclassified as a murder investigation.
Police stated that they were satisfied that Jo Jo had suffered serious harm on or around the night of November 9, 1995.
Despite the change in classification, no person has been brought to justice for her murder.
The investigation has continued under the direction of officers at Naas Garda Station, with assistance from the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Serious Crime Review Team.
According to the latest police statement, nearly 800 recommendations have been identified during the investigation. These have helped generate additional lines of inquiry, which investigators have continued to pursue.
NEW SEARCHES NEAR THE WICKLOW–KILDARE BORDER
The investigation has not stopped, even after 31 years.
In June 2026, Gardaí carried out searches of open ground at a location in County Wicklow, close to 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. Police confirmed that the families had been informed of the outcome but said the results would not be made public for operational reasons.
The searches did not produce publicly announced answers about Jo Jo’s whereabouts.
Investigators have continued examining possible leads, determined to establish what happened to both women.
HER FAMILY MARKS 31 YEARS WITHOUT HER
On Sunday, November 8, 2026, Jo Jo’s family, friends and members of the local community gathered at Kilkenny Castle for a memorial service marking the 31st anniversary of her disappearance.
The gathering offered an opportunity to remember Jo Jo and other missing loved ones.
Earlier in the week, her family shared an emotional message reflecting on the decades they have spent without her.
“Not a day goes by where we don’t think of her.”
They also expressed their continuing hope that missing loved ones might one day return to their families.
“We keep the candle of hope lit that our loved ones will find their way home.”
Her sister Kathleen Bergin has continued appealing to anyone with information to speak up, even if they believe what they know may seem insignificant.
For the family, every unanswered question represents another year without the truth.
GARDAÍ ISSUE A NEW APPEAL — AND WANT ANSWERS ABOUT A CASSETTE PLAYER
On November 9, the 31st anniversary of Jo Jo’s disappearance, Gardaí renewed their appeal to the public.
Investigators are particularly interested in speaking with anyone who met or saw Josephine after 11:37 p.m. on November 9, 1995.
They are also asking people to think carefully about several specific details.
1. Did you meet Jo Jo at Bruxelles Bar?
She spent part of the evening at the Dublin venue on Harry Street. Anyone who remembers seeing or speaking with her that night may have information relevant to the investigation.
2. Did you ever see or receive her cassette player?
Jo Jo was carrying a Sanyo Stereo cassette player, model MGP21, when she disappeared.
Police want to hear from anyone who saw the device after November 9, 1995, or received a similar player from someone who could not explain where it came from.
3. Were you hitchhiking near Moone in late October or early November 1995?
Investigators are appealing to anyone who was hitchhiking in the immediate area around Moone during that period.
They also want to speak with anyone who may have given a hitchhiker a lift in the area.
4. Did you previously withhold information?
Gardaí are urging anyone who previously contacted investigators but felt unable to share everything they knew to come forward again.
Even a small detail could potentially help establish a new line of inquiry.
POLICE PLEAD FOR SOMEONE TO COME FORWARD
In their latest statement, An Garda Síochána emphasized their determination 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
- Any Garda station in Ireland.
- Garda Confidential Line: 1800 666 111
Information can be provided confidentially through the dedicated Garda line.
31 YEARS LATER, HER FAMILY IS STILL WAITING
Jo Jo Dullard was only 21 when she disappeared.
She left Dublin expecting to return home to Callan. Instead, her journey ended in a mystery that has continued for more than three decades.
Her family has endured birthdays, anniversaries and countless ordinary days without knowing what happened to her.
The 2026 anniversary has brought renewed attention to the case, but it has not brought the answers her loved ones desperately need.
There is still no publicly confirmed account of what happened after that final phone call in Moone. No one has been convicted in connection with her murder, and her whereabouts remain unknown.
For her family, the hope remains that someone will finally speak.
Thirty-one years have passed. Jo Jo has not been forgotten. And her family is still waiting for the truth.
